To the editor:

The recent article in the Bristol Phoenix entitled "Mt Hope Bridge is Safe, RITBA assures public" provided zero assurance to concerned East Bay citizens that the bridge is in fact safe. RITBA Executive Director Lori Silveira and Director of Engineering Eric Seabury need to be called out on this shamefully weak response of an update to assure the public. Are these public servants aware of the ongoing Washington Bridge debacle and how it has shaken the confidence of the public?? There has been no "day of reckoning" and neither McKee (approval rating 19%) and Peter Alviti (DOT Director) should not have survived this national embarrassment but the RI political juggernaut somehow allowed them to do so.

With the apparent Washington Bridge backdrop, Silveira and Seabury seem to have missed the point of how we got here — poor administration, inadequate oversight of maintenance and inspections, inconsistent management of subcontractors who were owed favors, cover ups, and political back channel wranglings. A big part of the Washington Bridge mess was lack of transparency with inspections reports (including missed inspections)…it seems as though we are on the same trajectory with the Mt Hope Bridge.

You can't make this up…there is a stunning lack of recognition on RITBA's part to recognize that they have the opportunity to handle the Mt Hope Bridge safety concerns differently. This is a major public safety issue and a full and open release of the inspection report is in order as RI News Today has previously requested. Standing behind a flimsy and aged DHS security issue as reason not to release the report to the public is a joke. Any terrorist doesn't care how many broken cables there are but the public deserves to know as the RITBA information on the true conditions is full of gaps. Yet Silveira states in the article that she has learned that communication is most of the ballgame. Really? What an insult to the East Bay residents.

We need to see the report, RITBAs response to the issues both short and long term and hear from independent engineering firms with a national reputation on their short and long term assessment of this lifeline for the East Bay. Perhaps part of the problem is that Peter Alviti (our esteemed DOT Director) is on the RITBA Board...what a joke and impediment to progress.

Director Silveira, do the right thing and release the report and get the Mt. Hope Bridge on a plan and path that instills confidence with the public. I ask that the East Bay residents keep the pressure on and see this through so we don't suffer the painful consequences of poor bridge management and politics again.

Steve Ruggieri
Bristol