Overnight lane closures start on Washington Bridge to install weight monitors

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) plans to start overnight closures of two lanes on the eastbound Washington Bridge on Tuesday to install electrical cables meant to keep tabs on the structural health of the highway.

Crews will close the right and center lanes on the section of Interstate 195 spanning the Seekonk River Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Lanes will again be closed Sunday Feb. 23, through Thursday, Feb. 27.

Earlier this month, RIDOT began closing up to two lanes of travel in both directions overnight on Interstate 195 near the main Iway Bridge, also known as the Providence River Bridge. Drivers can expect those closures to continue Tuesday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. 

RIDOT paid $2.8 million last May to Swiss-based technology company Kistler to install sensors meant to monitor traffic volumes, vehicle weights and axle loads, vehicle distances, and vehicle classes that cross the bridge. 

The eastbound span, constructed in 2008, was converted to take on western traffic days after the state closed the western Washington Bridge in December 2023 when engineers discovered broken anchor rods that put the span at risk of collapse.

State officials say the new weight monitoring system is being placed as a precaution and that the bridge can handle the additional traffic until a new highway is built.

The state plans to award the contract to rebuild the westbound bridge by June 6, 2025.

Correction: A typo had incorrect times for the overnight lane closures. The right and center lanes on the section of Interstate 195 on the Washington Bridge will be closed three nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.