Current:Home > BackCommuters stranded in traffic for hours after partial bridge shutdown in Rhode Island-LoTradeCoin
Commuters stranded in traffic for hours after partial bridge shutdown in Rhode Island
View Date:2024-12-23 23:14:26
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The sudden westbound closure of one of the busiest bridges in Rhode Island has stranded commuters for hours and sent others driving way off their normal path as the state’s congressional delegation sought federal funds to speed up emergency repairs.
State authorities said a critical structural failure in the Washington Bridge resulted in the closure late Monday afternoon. The bridge carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River from Providence to East Providence and serves as a key gateway to the state’s largest city. The bridge carries close to 100,000 vehicles every day.
“What’s normally a morning commute time of a 40-to-45-minute drive was 4 1/2 hours,” John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said Tuesday. He was able to work from home on Wednesday.
The repair work could take months. Traffic was being redirected to two lanes on the eastbound side for now.
Gov. Dan McKee and state and local officials planned to give an update on the response to the partial closure on Wednesday afternoon. McKee was in East Providence with Mayor Bob DaSilva in the morning to survey traffic conditions and identify areas that need a change in traffic patterns.
“Public safety is paramount. There are lots of moving parts here and we will ensure the federal government does its part to assist Rhode Island with getting this bridge repaired and reopened,” the state’s congressional delegation said in a news release Tuesday.
U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo said they wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging the government to free up existing funding that could accelerate completion of the emergency work on the bridge.
The delegation also urged technical assistance from the federal government to optimize work on faster repairs, lane shifts, detour design and shuttle buses.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- After years of unrest, Commanders have reinvented their culture and shattered expectations
- UAW strike could cost US economy billions. Could it also push the nation into a recession?
- 'Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' designers explain why latest hit won't get a follow-up
- Florida man hung banners with swastikas, anti-Semitic slogans in Orlando bridge, authorities say
- Donna Kelce Includes Sweet Nod to Taylor Swift During Today Appearance With Craig Melvin
- Carly Pearce Details Her New Chapter After Divorce From Michael Ray
- 'We can put this all behind us:' Community relieved after Danelo Cavalcante captured
- Demand for back-to-school Botox rising for some moms
- Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
- Climate change is un-burying graves. It's an expensive, 'traumatic,' confounding problem.
Ranking
- NBA today: Injuries pile up, Mavericks are on a skid, Nuggets return to form
- Offshore Wind’s Rough Summer, Explained
- Georgia family of baby decapitated during birth claims doctor posted images online
- Haitian officials meet in Dominican Republic to prevent border closings over canal dispute
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- Elon Musk Reflects on Brutal Relationship With Amber Heard in New Biography
- Bodycam shows Seattle cop joking about limited value of woman killed by police cruiser. He claims he was misunderstood.
- Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, former presidential candidate and governor, won’t seek reelection in 2024
Recommendation
-
Kevin Costner Shares His Honest Reaction to John Dutton's Controversial Fate on Yellowstone
-
Spain’s women’s soccer league players call off strike after reaching a deal for higher minimum wage
-
Jury deciding fate of 3 men in last trial tied to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
-
China says EU probe into Chinese electric vehicle exports, subsidies is protectionist
-
A growing and aging population is forcing Texas counties to seek state EMS funding
-
US should use its influence to help win the freedom of a scholar missing in Iraq, her sister says
-
Social Security COLA 2024 prediction rises with latest CPI report, inflation data
-
Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime