The Journal fought for these Washington Bridge emails. Now you can read them.

While questions still remain around the closure of the westbound lanes of Interstate 195 on the Washington Bridge, including who knew what and when, as well as what discussion led to the actual closure of the bridge, some light was shed on how it all came together through an Access to Public Records Act request submitted by The Providence Journal and delivered on Jan. 30.

The 236 emails released by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation cover from Dec. 8 to Dec. 13, from the first email sent by a concerned engineer with VHB alerting a potential problem, following through the closing of the bridge on Dec. 11 and several days after. They include communications within RIDOT, between RIDOT and the firms working on the bridge, and between RIDOT and Governor Dan McKee’s office.

The Providence Journal made the APRA request on Dec. 15 and received the records over a month later, on Jan. 30. The Journal was quoted $450 for the records, which we paid (and will be refunded). Now, we are making them free for anyone to read.

Read the emails around the closure of the Washington Bridge