I don't have all the information, but it appears to me and others I've talked to that this is simply a money grab and could be considered an attack on our local industry. The state's lawyers even alluded to the fact that they couldn't get money from RIDOT employees, so they're chasing anyone who has touched the bridge in the past 10 years and still has insurance.
It’s hard to believe all five qualified engineering firms missed the broken tie-down rods.
Here's a summary of the entities in the lawsuit with some minor commentary from myself.
AECOM Technical Services, Inc. - Inspected the bridge in 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2023. If there was one company that may have recently missed the broken tie-down rods, they seem like they would be at the top of the list. But, they also provided a design in 2016 to rehab the bridge, which RIDOT did not proceed with due to concerns on impact on traffic, which is ironic considering the traffic issues now. I’m unsure if the rehab design addressed any tie-down rods.
Aetna Bridge Company – Local Bridge contractor that originally constructed the bridge, which opened in 1968. They were repairing the bridge when VHB, their lead designer, found the failed tie-down rods. How are they at fault? I’m not sure.
Aries Support Services, Inc.- They were part of the 2013-2016 AECOM team to design the Rehab of the bridge. They likely provided bridge inspection and testing services since they provide traffic control, safety equipment, concrete coring and testing, pavement coring, chloride ion analysis, and half-cell potential testing.
Barletta Heavy Division, Inc. – A local bridge contractor that initially constructed the Washington Bridge, which opened in 1968. They were repairing the bridge when VHB, their lead designer, found the failed tie-down rods. How are they at fault? I’m not sure. They also have some past “history” with RIDOT. I wouldn’t be shocked if RIDOT was trying to get back at them.
Barletta/Aetna I-195 Washington Bridge North Phase 2 JV – See above.
Collins Engineers, Inc. Inspected the bridge in 2017. It seems like a stretch to say they indefinitely missed broken tie-down rods.
Commonwealth Engineers Consultants, Inc. – Local engineering firm. I’m not sure how they are involved.
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. - Inspected the bridge in 2021
Michael Baker International, Inc. - Inspected the bridge in 2018. It seems too long ago to say they absolutely missed broken tie-down rods. They also inspected in 2011, which seemed to kick RIDOT in the butt to try to rehab the structure. AECOM provided a rehab construction plan set in 2016. It never ended up getting performed.
Prime AE Group, Inc. is an AE firm located throughout the eastern US. I’m not sure how they are involved.
Steere Engineering, Inc. – They helped AECOM with the 2013-2016 rehab design project, which never went into construction, thanks to RIDOT pulling the plug due to traffic concerns. They don’t seem like they would be at fault, but they probably got roped in since they were AECOM’s sub-consultants.
Transystems Corporation - Inspected the bridge in 2016 and 2022
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc – VHB was the lead designer of the 2021 DB team to repair the bridge but did not address the tie-down rods, which failed. VHB found the broken tiedown rods and noticed the bridge structure was bouncing during the execution of their contract. They notified RIDOT. They should be thanked for avoiding a travesty. On the surface, suing them seems wrong and sets a bad precedent.
If I remember correctly, the contractors who submitted questions for the recent bid request for the bridge replacement were out-of-towners who hadn’t worked with RIDOT before. American Bridge, Kiewit, and Halmar. So yes, there is interest in still working with RIDOT… but it appears that it’s going to cost more than usual.
