Latest on the Washington Bridge closure and when westbound lanes will open

PROVIDENCE — Two-way traffic on Interstate 195 over the Washington Bridge should resume by Saturday morning, Rhode Island transportation officials said Thursday in the latest briefing on the traffic chaos created by an emergency closure of the bridge's westbound span Monday.

While permanent repairs on the damaged span of the bridge are likely still months away, crews have scrambled to build a temporary way for two lanes of westbound traffic to share half of the eastbound span.

When will the bridge open to westbound traffic?

Initial estimates suggested it could take two weeks to create the bypass road, but with the full closure of I-195 West causing gridlock in parts of Providence and East Providence, that timeline has been cut in half.

Rhode Island Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. Thursday said it is possible the two-lane bypass could reopen before the end of Friday.

The limited reopening of westbound traffic won't alleviate all of the delays hampering travel between the East Bay and the rest of Rhode Island, because the shared eastbound span will only have half the normal capacity of 195 westbound before the shutdown.

But it should ease the crippling gridlock that paralyzed parts of East Providence on Tuesday, canceled in-person school on Wednesday and caused many people to avoid traveling.

"Everybody out there, the traveling public and the commuters, have done an outstanding job and we know it creates angst and impatience, but we ask you to kind of bear with us through this next phase," Alviti said. "And as happened with the opening of the detours over a two-day cycle, people begin to find their personal preference of routes and that balances out the traffic ... makes it flow better."

What went wrong?

It turns out that a picture (or two) might not be worth a thousand words.

At a similar news briefing Wednesday, Alviti presented two photographs of the same Washington Bridge support rod. One photo was taken during a July inspection, and the other during last week’s inspection.

Alviti said the photos showed that the support rod was in “stable” condition during the July inspection, whereas it had clearly been severed by last week's inspection – “something catastrophic happened between July and now,” he said. Damage to these anchor rods was the chief reason cited for shutting down the bridge.

“I hope that this dispels the rumors and fearmongering that’s going on that goes to the issue of whether or not we were hiding something or things should have been known,” Alviti said Wednesday in presenting the photo comparison.”

But the July photo does not show the part of the rod in question.

Because of the angle that the photograph was taken in July, a concrete square obscures the base of the rod where the break occurred.

Alviti conceded that point Thursday during a news conference but stuck by his statement Wednesday that the rod – and several others – “were in order and structurally sound,” in July, based on the full inspection report.

“People taking the two pictures didn’t necessarily place themselves in the same position that the other person was in,” Alviti said.

But, he said “the report that they made on it [and] is part of the data that we presented yesterday, concluded that all of those pins were in order and structurally sound. It wasn’t just the visual picture” that led inspectors to that conclusion, he said.

Embrace oversight

Gov. Dan McKee struck a combative tone Wednesday against criticism of the state's handling of the bridge problems and calls for tougher oversight.

On Thursday, a more conciliatory McKee welcomed future analysis of the situation from lawmakers and federal authorities.

"As far as oversight, we embrace that," McKee said. "Whether it's on the state level or federal level, whatever oversight that sheds lights on how we got here and how we can continue to respond in a way that creates safety for the people in the state Rhode Island, we welcome that. We certainly want to make sure that the review is done in a way that is a very open minded ... and not jump to conclusions."

More: Some RI lawmakers are calling for hearings on bridge closure. Leadership says it's too soon.

RIDOT: Take a ferry to Providence

If traffic remains heavy next week, East Bay commuters will likely have an additional option to get to Providence – by ferry.

Alviti said arrangement to launch ferry service from Bristol to the India Point Park boat terminal with two vessels is ready to launch next Monday.

Ferries are slated to run every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The only reason ferry service might not begin Monday, Alviti said, is bad weather in the forecast.

Alviti, who is also chairman of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority board, said RIPTA will provide shuttle buses from the India Point Park ferry terminal to Kennedy Plaza and the Providence train station.

More: Sick of I-195 Washington Bridge traffic? RIDOT thinks you should try taking a ferry.

Help for businesses

Small businesses on both sides of the river are struggling with customers unable to travel during the make-or-break holiday season and on Thursday McKee said he had formally asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to make economic injury disaster loans available for Rhode Island businesses affected.

The loans of up to $2 million come with interest rates between 3% and 4%.

Businesses that have lost customers because of the bridge closure can visit the Commerce Corporation website or call 401-521-HELP.

Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner said 150 small businesses have already contacted the state for help because of the bridge closure.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Washington Bridge closure update: Westbound lanes will open by weekend