It sounded good when Gov. Daniel J. McKee promised in March a “day of reckoning” for those responsible for the Washington Bridge’s rickety condition and the upheaval caused by its sudden closure.
But now months later, the McKee administration has stumbled in hiring a firm to rebuild the bridge, which could cost well over $300 million, and the public remains in the dark about what went wrong and who is at fault.
With the state mulling a lawsuit against contractors who worked on the bridge before its closure, publicly naming suspects should be handled with caution. That’s smart lawyering on the part of McKee’s legal team.
But the governor also has a duty to his fellow Rhode Islanders. They deserve more answers than what has been given grudgingly so far. Does the state share culpability for the bridge’s sudden deterioration?
Gov. McKee needs to better balance legal strategy and the accountability he’s promised, to convince the public his administration can be trusted to effectively manage the daunting bridge project.