The Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced an emergency closure of the Washington Bridge on Monday, a busy artery in the Providence area.
The bridge connects East Providence to Providence via I-195, over the Seekonk River. Transportation officials said Monday that they closed all the westbound lanes after they found a “critical failure of some bridge components.”
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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. To accomplish this, two lanes on I-195 eastbound will close at Exit 1A starting Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Once traffic is flowing on the eastbound side, permanent repair work can begin on the westbound lanes.
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The repairs could take several months, the agency warned, depending on what’s found when the work actually begins.
The current detour is as follows:
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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.
Drivers should expect delays during the work.
