The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) said engineers believed that the eastbound Washington Bridge can handle extra weight. However, records show that earlier this year, engineers had concerns.
At a press conference on April 19, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti told the public that the added lanes of traffic would not impact the bridge’s condition.
“We had two brand-new reports done on it and they both came back and said that it’s adequate for the use that we’ll be using it for the next several years,” Alviti said.
On April 25, RIDOT filed a critical expense request form. RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin said the term for the expense request is standard and does not mean that the need for the expense is “critical.”
The form said RIDOT needed $2.75 million to enter a contract with Kistler, a technology company that has weigh-in monitoring system technology. RIDOT wanted to use this technology on the eastbound bridge.
“The eastbound Washington Bridge has become considerably more sensitive since the closing of the westbound bridge,” the form stated.
RIDOT installed the new weigh-in monitoring system on the bridge in September. According to RIDOT the technology will monitor the structural health of bridges used for traffic diversions during construction. However, the needs for the Washington Bridge were a bit different.
“RIDOT had been researching this technology and found that Kistler was the only company that successfully integrates the weigh-in-motion and bridge structural health monitoring systems to give a complete overview, analysis and live monitoring of a structural condition based on live traffic,” St. Martin said.
State officials announced in March that the westbound bridge — which passed inspection last July and closed on Dec. 11 — must be demolished and rebuilt.
The eastbound bridge is much newer than the westbound side. First built in 1930, the bridge underwent a replacement and reopened in 2008.
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Source: WPRI, TurnTo10.com
