PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island is suing more than a dozen companies that were involved with the design, repair and inspection of the defunct westbound Washington Bridge, Attorney General Peter Neronha said Friday.
The civil suit, which Gov. Dan McKee hoped would bring a “day of reckoning” to those responsible for leaving the bridge on the verge of collapse last December, targets virtually every private firm that agreed to work for the state on the project over the last decade.
Who is the lawsuit targeting?
The 13 defendants in the suit are:
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AECOM Technical Services
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Aetna Bridge Company
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Aries Support Services
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Barletta Heavy Division
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Barletta/Aetna I-195 Washington Bridge North Phase 2 Joint Venture
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Collins Engineers
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Commonwealth Engineers Consultants
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Jacobs Engineering Group
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Michael Baker International
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Prime AE Group
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Steere Engineering
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Transystems Corporation
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Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB)
No state employees are targeted in the suit.
What are the allegations?
The lawsuit alleges various degrees of negligence, breach of contract and/or breach of fiduciary duty by the firms that were involved in the design, construction or inspection of the bridge, especially those that allegedly “failed” to detect and report the bridge’s serious deterioration.
The complaint recounts the now familiar story of what happened to the westbound Washington Bridge span, from the emergency closure due to the discovery of fractured tie-down rods to the revelation of even more serious problems within the structure itself that “has rendered the Washington Bridge unsalvageable.”
Problems with the bridge were flagged as early as 1992 in a report produced by Lichtenstein & Associates which noted deterioration in the concrete drop-in beams and signs of distress in the grout and cantilever beams, the suit recounts.
Also flagged were concerns about corrosion from moisture and salt, and potential voids and cracks. The firm said it was unlikely think the cracks in the cantilever beams would continue to grow.
That prediction was wrong, the lawsuit alleges.
Moving head to January 2015, the suit alleges AECOM provided RIDOT with a “Final Technical Evaluation” that “failed” to “adequately recognize or address critical elements of the bridge’s structural safety and integrity.”
AECOM then went ahead with its development and design plans for the complete rehabilitation of the bridge that, similarly “failed to identify, analyze, or recommend improvements necessary to completely rehabilitate the existing structure,” the suit alleges.
But AECOM was not the only firm that allegedly dropped the ball.
“From 2015 until the fractured tie-down rods were discovered in December of 2023, five engineering firms oversaw inspections of the Washington Bridge and reported their findings to RIDOT,” as required by their contracts with the state.
“Like AECOM and its subconsultants under the 2014 AECOM contract; however, none of the firms that conducted the inspections adequately recognized or addressed critical elements of the bridge’s structural safety and integrity,” the suit reads.
Going deeper: State alleges breach of contract
The lawsuit also targets Barletta and the winner of the current bridge demolition contract, Aetna, for leading the state to believe that the 2021 rehabilitation contract they won would extend “the life expectancy of the bridge” by 25 years.
In Oct. 19, 2023, the suit alleges, these “joint venture” partners issued rehabilitation plans – stamped by VHB,Barletta, and Aetna – which failed to acknowledge problems with the tie-down roads at Piers 6 and 7 and “did not call for repairs to the post-tensioning systems.”
The lawsuit alleges Barletta and Aetna breached their 2021 design-build contract by, “failing” to do “a detailed research and review of the bridge structure file.”
The lawsuit also accuses the “joint venture [of] Barletta, Aetna, VHB, and Commonwealth Engineers” of failing to provide “the standard of skill, care, and diligence exercised by the average professional engineering, consulting, construction, inspection, and design firm.”
Aetna hit back at the lawsuit , saying that, as a “third generation Rhode Island family business, they were proud of their history of bridge work in the state.
“We are aware of litigation filed today related to the failure of the Washington Bridge,” the company stated. “We stand behind the quality of all our past work and the work we will perform in the future. We will vigorously defend ourselves against any claims made in this lawsuit.”
‘Day of reckoning’ for those involved in bridge failure
“In the nearly nine months since the abrupt closure, our economy has borne an immense cost, and our state has and will continue to have to expend significant resources as a result,” Neronha said in a news release. “Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold accountable those responsible and recover the maximum amount possible for the state.”
McKee in April hired a team of private lawyers to pursue lawsuits – and recover potential financial damages – against one or more of the private contractors who worked on the bridge, inspected the bridge or provided technical advise to the Department of Transportation that wasn’t on point.
“As promised, the state is pursuing accountability from all responsible parties who we assert have contributed to the current situation with the Washington Bridge,” McKee said in the release.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lawsuit filed against 13 companies over Washington Bridge closure
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