PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has scheduled a new virtual community meeting to discuss Providence residents’ concerns over the demolition work on the Washington Bridge.
The department’s first virtual community meeting, held on Friday, Oct. 11, was widely criticized by residents as well as local and state officials.
Providence City Councilor John Goncalves, who attended Friday’s meeting, told 12 News on Monday that he has been gathering feedback from his constituents.
“It was a short meeting. It was about nine minutes or so,” Goncalves said. “Many folks felt like it was woefully inadequate, and I agree with those folks.”
RELATED: Washington Bridge timeline extends demo to late 2025 According to Goncalves, many people felt like their questions weren’t answered.
State Senator Sam Zurier was also critical of how things were handled.
“The meeting was not very productive,” said Zurier, who represents the East Side of Providence. “And it’s unfortunate, because this is something that’s been on their desk for a month and a half.”
Deborah Booth lives just a few houses away from the Washington Bridge, and told 12 News it feels like her neighborhood has been “forgotten about.”
She attended the virtual meeting and compiled a list of questions, but she wasn’t able to ask any of them during the meeting.
“I was really shocked. I thought that perhaps RIDOT had learned their lesson about being open and being forthcoming with the public, and clearly they were not,” Booth said. “An eight-minute infomercial is not a town meeting.”
Many people who live near the bridge are concerned about the overnight noise that comes with the ongoing demolition work.
Goncalves said one of his constituents was particularly worried because they are about to have a baby. “They are very anxious and concerned about the fact that there will be jackhammering overnight, that the noise will disrupt their sleep, and certainly be a quality of life issue.”
Register for the Oct. 17 community meeting The overnight noise is “horrendous,” according to Booth. “It’s impossible to sleep through it. The house was shaking,” she said.
Governor Dan McKee apologized for how the meeting was handled in a press conference on Tuesday morning. He said the next meeting will be more productive.
“We apologize to the people who had anticipated a little bit different outcome on Friday,” McKee said. “They’re going to get it on Thursday, and I expect that this will not be the first of community meetings, so that we can do a better job communicating with the community.”
The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17. Anyone interested in attending can register to receive a Zoom link by clicking here .
Anyone who would like to submit questions in advance can click here . Attendees can also ask questions during the meeting by typing in the chat feature or by using the hand raise button during the Q&A portion of the meeting.
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