To the editor:

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) says the bridge is rated “Fair,” and therefore safe. But Rhode Islanders have heard that before—the Washington Bridge was rated “Fair” until the day it wasn’t.

The real issue is transparency. RITBA has not released recent inspection data to support its assurances, prompting the Town of Bristol to file a federal lawsuit to make those reports public.

Meanwhile, a major cable dehumidification project is underway to slow corrosion in the bridge’s main suspension cables—damage caused by decades of water intrusion. These cables are made up of thousands of steel wires, many of which have already corroded and broken, reducing the bridge’s overall strength.

Engineers measure this strength using a “Load Safety Factor”—essentially how much stronger the bridge is than the loads it carries. The Mount Hope Bridge was originally designed with a load safety factor of 2.95. By 2015, that had dropped to 2.62 due to corrosion—and RITBA states even that figure may have been optimistic, as only 7.6% of the total length of both cables was opened up and inspected.
In its own 2021 federal grant application, RITBA projected that the safety factor could fall to 2.15 by 2028 if corrosion is not stopped. That threshold is significant: according to national guidelines, it is the point at which costly and urgent remedial measures must be considered, including traffic restrictions or even cable replacement.

That raises an important question: Given those projections, why has there not been another comprehensive internal cable inspection and updated load safety factor analysis? An updated load safety factor would be particularly important as critical baseline data before cable dehumidification is initiated.

The problem? Even under ideal conditions, the new dehumidification system may take years after completion to reduce internal cable humidity enough to slow ongoing corrosion.

Time is not on our side.

Without access to the latest inspection reports from 2024 and 2026, the public is left to rely on outdated data and optimistic projections. That is not acceptable when public safety is at stake.

If the bridge is truly safe, RITBA should prove it—by releasing the existing inspection data, and by performing another internal cable inspection to determine the current load safety factor.

George LeBlanc
Bristol