Demolition work on Washington Bridge to resume this week

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Demolition will resume Tuesday on the westbound side of the Washington Bridge.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) hosted a virtual community meeting Friday night, presenting progress on the demolition work and what people can expect in the weeks ahead.

The meeting was about nine minutes long and RIDOT tried to address concerns they’d heard from neighbors — including noise, dust, and traffic impacts.

Project managers did not take any questions, instead, they offered residents the option to write in questions to their project website.

“It is an understatement to say that l am disappointed in how the community meeting was managed last night,” McKee said in a statement Saturday .

RIDOT said questions can be submitted until Oct. 18, and they will respond by Nov. 1 on the project website.

“We’ve removed asphalt wearing surface and most of the existing concrete barrier in the Gano Street area. We’ve removed much of the concrete bridge deck as shown in the photos on this slide, and one set of drop-in beams,” said Steve Sutherland, Assistant Manager of the RIDOT Project Management Division. “We’ve also removed two entire spans of the structure at the far eastern end of the bridge.”

Work was paused on Sept. 17th due to an ongoing legal battle . Drivers can expect road closures and detours to also resume.

Starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Waterfront Drive in East Providence will be closed at the overpass for one week. Gano Street will also be closed at the overpass starting at 9 p.m.

Drivers will be directed to follow a detour using Valley Street.

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