PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A handful of defendants in the state’s Washington Bridge lawsuit pushed back Tuesday against allegations they are responsible for increased wear and tear damage on the eastbound highway due to the 2023 closure of the westbound span.
Attorneys for three of the 13 defendants — Jacobs Engineering, Steere Engineering and Commonwealth Engineering — have asked the R.I. Superior Court judge overseeing the case to throw out allegations of negligence against them.
In court Tuesday, they argued that the wear and tear was inevitable, given tens of thousands of vehicles each day were diverted from the westbound bridge to the eastbound bridge after state officials abruptly closed the broken bridge due to a structural failure discovered in December 2023…