PROVIDENCE – R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. on Thursday dismissed anxieties over the undisbursed $220 million in federal funds that had been frozen by President Donald Trump for the Washington Bridge replacement, while defending his agency from ongoing criticisms.
"We always have a plan A, B and C on all our projects. We don’t start them until we have the funding secured to do it," Alviti said during a joint hearing between the House Committee on Oversight and the Senate Committee on Rules, Government, Ethics & Oversight, which each grilled him on questions regarding RIDOT.
The westbound side of the bridge connecting Interstate 195 from the state’s East Bay to downtown Providence was abruptly shut down on Dec. 11, 2023, following the discovery of structural deficiencies.
"While it will be extremely advantageous to us to have these federal grants move forward and be provided to us, in their absence, we do already have funding to build the bridge," Alviti said. "We're moving ahead, demolishing the bridge this month before starting demolition of the substructure next month. By June, a contractor will be in place."
Alviti told sharply inquisitive Senate and House oversight committee members that RIDOT had already secured more than $500 million independent of the $220 million in grants being held up by the Trump administration.
"[We have] much more funding than anyone projected we needed," he said.
Alviti's words come just hours after an amended complaint was filed Thursday morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Providence, detailing the state's issues in obtaining the federal funds.
But Alviti says the nature of RIDOT's Washington Bridge replacement project doesn’t disqualify the agency from receiving those federal funds, according to Trump's memo guidelines, which target Green New Deal and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies, among others.
"This bridge project is not under such policies," Alviti said.
While the Washington Bridge replacement is well funded in spite of the $220 million in undisbursed federal aid, Alviti said, those federal funds "contribute considerably to jobs and wealth growth, with money flowing into Rhode Island from outside of the state," he added.
Alviti defended RIDOT's reputation amid weeks of negative press after video footage of the bridge's span appearing to collapse into the water, unprompted by any demolition efforts, sinking a barge and spreading debris in the process, went viral.
"I take responsibility for everything DOT does," Alviti said as oversight committee members pressed him for answers. "We didn’t let people know well enough ahead of time, but that was a planned demolition. There will be more of them, but we will be getting the word out beforehand."
Alviti continued, "We will restore public trust. In the last 10 years, we have remained on budget and without cost overruns for 95% of our projects. We don’t want to see this one incident and one bridge disrupt that trust."
The two companies that have submitted bids to rebuild the westbound side of the Washington Bridge are The Walsh Group Ltd. and American Bridge Co., the largest and fifth-largest, respectively, bridge-builders in the world, said Alviti, adding, they are "the best of the best."
The winning bid will be announced in June, after which a construction timeline for the bridge replacement will become available, Alviti said.
Oversight committee members told Alviti they will be calling upon RIDOT again in the near future for another hearing but didn't give a specific date.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
