Commuters traveling on I-195 through Providence, Rhode Island, got the first taste Tuesday of what will be a monthslong traffic jam for emergency work on the Washington Bridge.
Westbound cars and trucks were backed up as the highway narrowed and traffic was diverted off the bridge, which highway officials closed Monday night after they found a "critical failure of some bridge components."
Closing the bridge averted a possible disaster, Gov. Dan McKee and other officials said at an update on the work Tuesday. McKee said he'd spoken with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the situation, as well as Sen. Jack Reed and other federal highway officials.
"We averted a major catastrophe here," Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said.
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Multiple lanes on the bridge were expected to be closed for months — though one lane will be made available for emergency vehicles to cross from East Providence into Providence one-by-one, officials said. Engineers approved of the contingency.
The highway is a busy thoroughfare over the Seekonk River.
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Traffic will be diverted to alternate routes for the first phase of the repairs, which could take two to three weeks. The plan is to establish a pattern that will divert traffic to two of the lanes on the eastbound side. Once traffic is flowing on the eastbound side, permanent repair work can begin on the westbound lanes.
The repairs could take several months, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation warned, depending on what’s found when the work actually begins.
The current detour is as follows:
Local traffic in East Providence should take Exit 2 to Broadway, then follow detour signs to the Henderson Bridge and reconnect with I-195 at Gano Street.
