State Police: RIDOT's Failures At Rt 95-146 Led To Two Crashes

Allegations have surfaced that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's failure to properly maintain a construction area at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 146 led to two nighttime crashes.

In an internal memo procured by GoLocalProv, Rhode Island State Police describe conditions that allegedly contributed to two collisions that took place early Sunday in Providence.

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“Due to construction in the area, no lane lines or gore indicators had been painted on the milled road surface. This created a significantly hazardous traffic pattern which contributed to both accidents earlier this morning,” the memo states.

The document further describes efforts by a State Police sergeant to communicate with RIDOT's Transportation Management Center about the problems.

The crashes — one of which involved a Pawtucket man who was subsequently charged with DUI, driving to endanger and leaving the scene — sent a state trooper to the hospital.

RIDOT Director Peter Alviti did not respond to the news outlet's questions about the state police allegations. Read more at GoLocalProv.