By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Governor Gina Raimondo said she will not order an investigation into why the Rhode Island Department of Transportation rated a Cranston bridge as safe nine months before it was closed. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello called for an investigation of the agency hours after the bridge was closed.
“The good news is we found this,” said Raimondo referring to the deterioration on the Park Avenue bridge.
“Thank god we found this before people were hurt.”
The governor became the subject of speculation after she ordered the closed to vehicular traffic; the bridge is used by Speaker Mattiello to travel from his law practice to the State House. Rumors began to swirl about the timing of the closure due to Mattiello’s stance on the Governor’s truck toll proposal.
Raimondo dismissed the rumors, saying the closure was the result of a broader effort by RIDOT to examine deficient bridges.
“The reason this bridge was found was because the new director, after only being here a few months, realized how bad things were and he ordered an accelerated review of all the bridges in the state,” said Raimondo.
Mattiello has said he does not question the closure of the bridge due to safety, rather why deficiencies were not found earlier.
One more bridge has since been ordered closed, and the Governor said more could be shut down as the review process continues.
