“This is a new way of doing business for RIDOT,” says RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. “We’re creating a culture of accountability and transforming the organization into one that is fully capable and committed to delivering on its promises of rebuilding Rhode Island’s infrastructure.”
The report includes summaries of how RhodeWorks is restructuring the agency, as well as timelines for projects, improvements, and maintenance covering a 10-year period.
Of particular note is the plan for bridge repairs, which aims to markedly decrease the number of bridges rated as structurally deficient. Twenty-five percent of the bridge deck area in the state is structurally deficient, while roughly 20 percent of the 1,173 bridges in the state are rated in the same condition. Over the 10-year plan period, RIDOT’s goal is to drop the deck area percentage to only 10 percent.
RIDOT’s schedule for advertising new bridge preservation and reconstruction through 2025.RIDOT also announced in the report that it is placing new project accountability signs near current and future project sites to indicate timelines and costs. Red, yellow, and green coded markers, mimicking the effect of a traffic signal, will indicate project progress.
“This quarterly report is an important first step toward earning the public’s trust in the department and being accountable to the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island,” RIDOT says.
The full report is available here.
