Who's who in the Washington Bridge closure? Here's a breakdown of those involved.
When the state Department of Transportation announced the closing of the westbound lanes of the Washington Bridge on Dec. 11, dozens of state officials and contractors were already involved in dealing with the crisis, as even more state, federal and local figures would be wrapped into the catastrophe.
Here is a look at some of the players in this unfolding drama:
Who from the governor's office is involved?
Gov. Dan McKee
According to official accounts, McKee only learned of the problem about two hours before the bridge closure was announced to the public on Monday, Dec. 11, three days after RIDOT learned about the problem.
Joseph Almond
McKee dispatched his senior deputy chief of staff, Joseph Almond, to RIDOT on Jan. 29, with the task of "providing oversight and cross-agency coordination for all operations related to the Washington Bridge."
Almond, a retired police lieutenant, had been the elected town administrator in Lincoln when McKee was mayor of neighboring Cumberland.
Cheyenne Cazeault
A policy adviser in McKee's office, Cazeault alerted state officials at 4:20 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 12, about a conference call with municipal officials to discuss the bridge. Officials from East Providence, Providence, Pawtucket, Warren, Bristol, Barrington, Middletown and Newport were invited.
More: Timeline of the Washington Bridge closure: Here's how it all happened
Who's who in RIDOT?
The director of RIDOT, he was briefed about the bridge on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 11, and agreed with engineers' recommendations that the bridge should be closed. At 2:52 p.m., Alviti informed McKee. Soon after, a news conference was called at RIDOT headquarters, and the closure was announced at 5 p.m.
Anthony Pompei
A project manager for RIDOT, who had been involved in ongoing work on the bridge when the problem was found. He was among the recipients of the first email from contractor VHB alerting officials to the problem.
Keith Gaulin
A RIDOT managing engineer, he was the first to respond to contractor VHB, about an hour after VHB alerted officials.
"Based on our phone conversation, it seems there are no immediate actions to be taken right at this moment as we try to determine other short and long-term solutions," he wrote to VHB.
Who are the people at VHB?
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. is the design consultant on the bridge repair project that was underway when the problem was discovered.
An inspection by an as-yet-unnamed engineer spotted broken tension rods in a cantilever section of the westbound side of the bridge, which led to the closure of that part of Interstate 195. While praising the engineer for alerting his supervisor to the problem before catastrophe struck, the state has declined to divulge his name, saying the engineer is not a state employee but works for the private VHB.
Andrew Prezioso
Apparently the young engineer's supervisor, Prezioso first notified RIDOT of the problem by email at 1:40 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8.
The feds
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany Wong
Wong is heading the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into possible fraud in the work done on the bridge. Wong was one of two prosecutors in 2022, when a contractor pleaded to making false reports about fill used on the Route 6-10 Connector project in Providence.
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is working with the state to inspect the bridge, perform structural analysis, develop a scope of work for repairs and find funding for those repairs.
Outside engineers
Michael Baker Co.
A RIDOT spokeswoman described the contractor as "our regular bridge-inspection company." On Dec. 28, RIDOT tasked Baker with conducting a "forensic analysis" of the bridge's condition and how it may have deteriorated.
McNary Bergeron
Separate from RIDOT's hiring of Michael Baker Co., the state Department of Administration hired engineering firm McNary Bergeron to review Baker's forensic analysis and come to its own conclusion.
AECOM
AECOM, an engineering firm headquartered in Dallas with an office in Providence, inspected the bridge in July and did not report the type of damage that triggered the shutdown in December.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: These are the players in the Washington Bridge closure
