Fix for Washington Bridge headaches can’t come soon enough in East Providence

Before everyone was talking about the Washington Bridge, the buzz in East Providence was about the Henderson Bridge. The new bridge opened last November, built to address previous structural deficiencies, and the redesign will ultimately leave some 25 acres of land for future development.

While not everyone loves the new rotary coming off the bridge, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva is enthusiastic about the economic development opportunities for the land.

“And with the land that becomes available, you could see something almost like Blackstone Boulevard,” DaSilva said.

Having a windfall of 25 acres of prime land is just one of the positive things happening in East Providence.

A series of projects is transforming former polluted industrial sites into new housing. A new partnership announced last November is expected to spur development of the dormant South Quay site as a support hub for the offshore wind industry. Igus, a German polymer manufacturer, was approved for a $200 million expansion in East Providence in 2022. And a concert amphitheater is being developed at Bold Point Park.

DaSilva said all this adds up to momentum: “Look, we’ve got a lot of great things happening. There’s a lot more that will be happening.”

But during a City Council meeting earlier this month, council Vice President Frank Rego expressed concern about fallout from the Washington Bridge.

“For everything that’s going on, and you’re hearing what great things we’ve done in the city in the last three or four years, well, this can cripple it,” Rego said. “This is going to take it back.”

He added: “Our businesses are getting hurt. They’re being strangled, which has a direct impact on the amount of revenue that we collect.” 

Rego is concerned that property values could take a hit and new businesses would be discouraged from coming to East Providence.

“The economic impact that this potentially is going to have on the city, if they’re talking about one, two years, we really need to start looking at that, asking the state for assistance,” he said.

During a recent legislative Oversight hearing at the Statehouse, state Rep. Julie Casimiro sounded off on the statewide impact of the bridge problem.

“I’m from North Kingstown — this affects my constituents daily, whether it’s their business or their commute to work,” Casimiro said. “My sister lives in Cowesett. It’s doubled her drive time to East Providence, so this does affect the entire state, not just the East Bay, and I want to make sure we’re clear with that.”

In East Providence, the ripple effect from the bridge is affecting businesses like Myrtle, a friendly bar, vintage store and music venue that opened on Waterman Avenue last September. 

“We’ve certainly seen a drop-off for the after-work crowd,” said co-owner Natalie Vanlandingham, “and we’ve heard from people, you know — I was coming here, I invited some friends. They don’t want to cross the bridge, or they’re too tired and annoyed of being stuck in traffic all week.”

Over on Taunton Avenue, right near the Washington Bridge, Mitchell Check runs an 86-year-old florist shop. If it takes a few years to resolve the situation, he thinks that will put a damper on the future of East Providence.

“Because people just don’t — they’re reserved in coming over here,” Check said. “Should they be? If on the prime time of traffic? Maybe, but other than that it’s not bad.”

It’s the start of a recent work week and Mayor DaSilva joined me for an interview near an exit ramp from I-195 at Taunton Avenue. 

“My concern for our community is to make sure that people know that we are open for business,” he said.

It’s a little after the morning rush hour and traffic is flowing smoothly. As the city tries to move forward, DaSilva says perception is a big challenge: “There’s this perception that you can’t get around the city, but the reality is, you can.”

Get around the city, yes. And state officials now have a plan to relieve traffic on the Washington Bridge by adding a lane in each direction. Barring supply chain issues or stormy weather, the change is expected to take about eight weeks to put in place.

“We’re creating three lanes of traffic in each direction of the bridge,” state Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said during a Statehouse news conference. “There will be an additional lane, or a 50 percent increase in capacity in both directions, both eastbound and westbound.” 

In the time before this announcement, a small business considering opening on Warren Avenue in East Providence decided against doing so because of the related uncertainty. But Mayor DaSilva said he does not expect an impact for major development projects already underway.

“I don’t think that the bridge is going to stifle that positive momentum,” he said, “because I still think that people want to come to live in East Providence, and I think our community is very resilient.” 

For now, DaSilva is among those waiting for answers about how the westbound Washington Bridge could pass a state inspection last summer and wind up in such disrepair in December that it may need to be demolished. Forensic engineering information is expected later this month or in March.

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