EXCLUSIVE: Top Construction Executive Cardi Says RIDOT Was Warned About Washington Bridge
Thursday, January 25, 2024
In an exclusive interview with GoLocal, Stephen A. Cardi, Sr., who helped to lead one of the top construction companies in the Northeast for more than 50 years, said the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) ignored warnings and moved forward with a design that undermined the structural integrity of the Washington Bridge.
For decades, the 100-plus-year-old Cardi Corporation was one of the most successful construction companies in New England.
On December 11, 2023, the westbound lands on I-195 on the Washington Bridge were closed by Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee's administration. RIDOT officials initially claimed that there was a "critical failure" and that the repairs would take just three months.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRIDOT Director Peter Alviti repeatedly claimed that his agency's extensive inspection program caught the issue early, and he said that maybe a heavy truck caused the issues on the bridge.
RIDOT Was Warned Nearly 3 Years Ago
In December, on the night of the bridge closure, GoLocal published documents that unveiled that a top bridge engineer in Connecticut had warned RIDOT years earlier.
Cardi Corporation partnered in bidding for the Washington Bridge rehabilitation work with the Connecticut engineer Michael “Pete” Culmo, who presently is the Chief Bridge Engineer at CHA Consulting in Hebron, Connecticut. Culmo flagged critical issues that were known to RIDOT officials for nearly three years.
Culmo warned in that submission that the design preferred by RIDOT officials had serious technical issues and, due to wear, could cause failure.
Cardi did not mince words about Alviti and Rhode Island Governors Gina Raimondo and McKee for their management failures regarding the Washington Bridge. He says the Washington Bridge is the "aorta" of Rhode Island's transportation system. It is critical to protect the key highways of the system.
Cardi on Alviti and RIDOT Failure
“[Culmo said the bridge repair strategy that RIDOT had pursued] would cause those those pins to fail. Culmo is an engineer, you know, a respected engineer — that speaks for itself. I can't argue; no one can argue with the facts,” said Cardi.
Regarding the misleading statements made by Alviti since the Washington Bridge was closed, Cardi said he was worried that it would damage the trust people have.
“Well, even an atheist has to live in faith, because you have faith that the bridges you're going over are safe,” said Cardi.
“It's faith that the building you're walking next to isn't going to fall on you,” he said. “Think about it — it really is 'faith' that those structures or the infrastructure are sound.”
Cardi discussed the convoluted bidding process for the contract to rehab the Washington Bridge, the legal battles, and the rebidding.
He said, “The invitation for proposals [for the second round of bids] on Washington Bridge...[RIDOT] changed the scoring basis from 50/50 to 60% presentation, 40% price. So it was impossible for anybody else to get the job except Barletta.”
Barletta is Barletta Heavy Division, the Braintree, Massachusetts-based construction company that has won many of the largest construction contracts in Rhode Island since Raimondo and Alviti came into power in 2015.
Barletta was awarded the 6/10 project, Pawtucket-Central Falls Transit Center, the Washington Bridge rehab, and the construction of the Henderson Bridge, to name a few. In total, Barletta has been awarded in excess of $500 million worth of work in recent years.
GoLocal wrote a series of more than 50 stories about contaminated material being dumped in the Olneyville section of Providence during the construction of the 6/10 project.
As a result, both federal and state agencies began investigations. In October of 2023, Barletta and the U.S. Justice Department reached a non-prosecution agreement, and the company paid $1.5 million. One top Barletta employee — Dennis Ferreira — pled guilty to multiple charges.
Last January, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha charged the Barletta company and Ferreira with a number of crimes related to the dumping.
That prosecution is ongoing, and Barletta continues to be the contractor on the failed Washington Bridge.
McKee defends Barletta's ongoing work despite the indictment and bridge failure.
Alviti Management
Cardi said Alviti has been slick in his relationship with the General Assembly.
“Give the Devil his dues; with the legislature, he was very well prepared. In the normal operation of the DOT, he shifted to design-build, and there are not many engineers left,” said Cardi. “In the past, this would have been reviewed by the design section, which really no longer exists.”
Cardi said Alviti was guilty of “micro-involvement.”
“The director should not be involved [in micromanagement], that is the job of the chief engineer,” said Cardi.
“Bob Rocchio is a good man, but he is acting as chief engineer,” said Cardi. "There are a lot of good people at RIDOT."
Cardi, as a company, built some of Rhode Island’s most significant public works projects in the history of the region, including the I-WAY, Waterplace Park, and much of the expansion at Rhode Island International Airport, to mention a few of the hundreds of projects the company had done across the region.
The Cardi family of construction companies began with the founding by Antonio B. Cardi, “Who came to America in 1903 and began his career in construction building railroads in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He quickly rose to the position of foreman and worked successfully in that position until the railroad project was completed. Antonio then settled in Rhode Island, bought a pair of horses and a bottom dump wagon, and went into the excavation, sand gravel, and hauling business in 1905.”
The company was forced out of business over the past 12 months. Under Alviti, much of the work that would have gone to Rhode Island firms like Cardi has been awarded to Barletta.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story included 146 rehabs as a Barletta contract. It was awarded to Skanska and Lynch.
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