“Eeyore, the old grey Donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.

“Pathetic,” he said. “That’s what it is. Pathetic.”

He turned and walked slowly down the stream for twenty yards, splashed across it, and walked slowly back on the other side. Then he looked at himself in the water again. “As I thought,” he said, “ No better on THIS side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that’s what it is.” (A. A. Milne)

As this publication succinctly stated in its May 23 editorial, where is the leadership?

Bristol’s elected officials seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that in late summer and early fall next year, for two to three months, the State of Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT) will in essence blockade Bristol. “Oh bother,” seems to be their motto.

How do you think Mayor Charlie Lombardi would react if the main artery into North Providence was closed? Or, Mayor Joe Polisena, if the state blocked access to Johnston. It would not be pretty!

Let’s state the obvious.

The bridge needs to be replaced. Eighteen thousand cars a day transverse the bridge in summer. (There are 22,000 people living in a Bristol, ponder that juxtaposition for awhile.)

The flooding issue needs to be addressed. The negative impact on Bristol’s downtown residents and businesses needs to be minimized. Safety of all our citizens needs to be priority number one.

What does it take to accomplish the above? Leadership and innovation.

If leadership and innovation are not forthcoming from local elected officials, then they must come from state leadership. All it takes is a call from Gov. Gina Raimondo’s office to DOT Director Peter Alviti’s office saying, “Figure out a way to replace the bridge without blockading downtown Bristol. Be innovative!”

That outcome would certainly make the governor’s stroll down Hope Street on this and the next Fourth of July far more enjoyable.

Howard G. Sutton
Bristol

Mr. Sutton is publisher emeritus of The Providence Journal.