February 10, 2022

PROVIDENCE, RI: According to a recent Investigative Report, the prolonged closure of two
heavily traveled bridges — one in South Providence (closed since June of 2020) and the other
two miles away in Cranston (closed since May of 2021 and won’t be finished until next summer)
— has left thousands of people living in a commuter crisis.

According to the report, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation cites Amtrac at fault,
which has a severe shortage of inspectors needed to complete construction of the bridges.
The article also says that these bridges are only “two of the 200 active construction jobs DOT
has across Rhode Island,” and according to DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr., our Congressional
Delegation must act to expedite these projects.

But for Allen Waters, Republican candidate for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District Allen
Waters, this underscores the disconnect between our Congressional delegation and problems in
the Ocean State.

“With infrastructure being a longstanding state issue, and potholes being a frequent punch-line
about commuting in Rhode Island, stories like this underscore the real problems that
infrastructure funding alone cannot solve,” Waters said.

“Since there is clearly an impasse between RIDOT and Amtrac, our Congressional delegation
needs to bring more than funds to the table, but mediation and federal resources to solve these
persistent state woes.”

Meanwhile, although Congress attempted to pass a federal infrastructure bill Build Back Better,
in 2021, it died in the senate last December.

“It is the job of our Congressional delegation to remember these local issues once they get back
to Capital Hill and not put their name to hyper partisan bills outside the scope of the basics like
our infrastructure – especially when they most likely won’t build a consensus in both houses,”
Waters said.

“As member of congress I won’t take for granted representing the basic needs of all Rhode
Islanders and will only support strong bills that effectively solve problems without taking a risk
on its passage,” Waters said.