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11/7/2025
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MEDIA ADVISORY: House and Senate oversight committees to meet to question officials on Washington Bridge
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 STATE HOUSE — The House Committee on Oversight is scheduled to convene jointly with the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight next week to investigate the circumstances around the failure, demolition and reconstruction of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge. The meeting was prompted by the recent release of a forensic audit and other new public details about the bridge, which spans the Seekonk River along the Interstate 195 corridor.
The committees will meet Thursday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. in Room 35 on the basement level of the State House. No public testimony will be taken at this meeting.
The General Assembly has retained the services of former U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha to assist the committees in conducting this hearing. Cunha, now in private practice, was the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2021 to 2025.
The westbound span of the Washington Bridge was closed on Dec. 11, 2023, after the Department of Transportation announced the critical failure of some original bridge components.
Attorney General Peter Neronha, also a former U.S. Attorney, has publicly stated that Rhode Island Department of Transportation employees may respond to questions from the joint committees despite the state’s lawsuit against former contractors. The hearing is expected to be conducted after an administration of oath to the witnesses.
The House Oversight Committee is chaired by Rep. Patricia A. Serpa (D-Dist. 27, West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick). The Senate Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Committee is chaired by Sen. Mark McKenney (D-Dist. 30, Warwick).
The meeting will be televised live by Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox channel 61, on i3Broadband channel 15 and on Verizon channel 34. It will be live streamed at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.
For more information, contact:
Daniel Trafford, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-1922
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