Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti are scheduled to hold a media briefing on Thursday afternoon to discuss the structural analysis of the westbound span of the Washington Bridge, which has been closed for three months.
They are scheduled to speak at 3 p.m., according to WJAR.
The westbound side of the Washington Bridge was shut down on Dec. 11 because of a “critical failure of some bridge components.” The bridge carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River from Providence to East Providence and serves as a key gateway to Rhode Island’s largest city. It carries close to 100,000 vehicles every day.
There are seven independent engineering firms looking into the bridge and whether it needs to be replaced.
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Last month, McKee announced that new lanes were being added to improve traffic patterns and alleviate congestion. Work on that project began on Feb. 26 and was expected to last about eight weeks.
As of early Feburary, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation had already paid nearly $900,000 in costs related to the Washington Bridge closure, according to WJAR. And that doesn’t even include additional costs incurred during the first two months of the shutdown.