How much has the Washington Bridge closure cost so far? We broke down the numbers.

Wheeler Cowperthwaite, Providence Journal
Updated ·2 min read

PROVIDENCE − How much has the Washington Bridge closure cost the state, Providence and East Providence, three months after the fact?

East Providence and Providence have been paying extra for police details to deal with traffic, but Providence has an extra wrinkle: damage to city streets caused by semi-trailer trucks.

Most recently, Gano Street was temporarily shut down to fix a water main broken under the road.

Between Providence and East Providence, $400,857 has been paid so far. Add in the money the state has spent on emergency contracts as of March 13, and it rises to $5.1 million, including expenses paid to Providence and East Providence.

Providence expects to need to repave

In Providence, the biggest single expense so far has been marine details, followed by police overtime and details, and then public works. The total expenses so far are $124,878.

Construction on the closed side of Washington Bridge.
Construction on the closed side of Washington Bridge.

The city has asked the state to "support" the repaving of roads being slowly destroyed by heavy vehicles detoured because of the closure, but there are no estimates on what that will cost, Providence Police Department spokeswoman Lindsay Lague wrote in an email.

Providence's total costs so far are:

  • $51,573 for police overtime and detail pay

  • $70,305 for police marine details

  • $3,000 for public works, engineering and traffic engineering

East Providence sees ongoing detail expenses

In East Providence, the biggest expense, and the only one that is ongoing, is police details to deal with traffic. That expense is being reimbursed by the state.

Unlike Providence, East Providence has not seen major impacts on local streets from heavy semi-trailer truck traffic.

In all, East Providence has spent a total of $275,979 so far. That breaks down to:

  • $39,627 for the fire department (first week of closure)

  • $13,557 for schools (ongoing expense)

  • $9,213 for Department of Public Works (first week of closure)

  • $213,580, for police (reimbursed by the state)

How much has the state spent?

In all, as of March 13, the sate Department of Transpiration has paid out $4.7 million. Here's how that breaks down:

  • $1.03 million for Barletta and Aetna for emergency bridge repairs

  • $14,054 to R A Cataldo & Associates for construction inspection

  • $153,793 to East Providence for police details

  • $732 to Cranston for police details

  • $43,257 to Providence for police details

  • $98,843 to State Police

  • $1.04 million for the Seastreak Ferry

  • $781,256 for the Rhode Island Fast Ferry

  • $476,050 to Interstate Navigation for ferry services

  • $9,700 to Stricklin Hospitality Group for transportation to and from the ferry

  • $23,357 for "IT centralization charges"

  • $1.05 million in Department of Transportation personnel costs, including maintenance, bridge engineering, project management and "other supporting sections"

The last estimate for how much the state has spent was $1.03 million, as of Feb. 23, Department of Transportation spokesman Charles St. Martin wrote in an email.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The Washington Bridge closure is costing thousands in police overtime