PROVIDENCE – Gov. Dan McKee is sending a retired police lieutenant and key member of his State House team across the street from the capitol to monitor the Department of Transportation’s response to the Washington Bridge fiasco and a federal investigation .
McKee is dispatching his Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
McKee has not lost confidence in RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, according to his chief spokeswoman Andrea Palagi. But when asked if the DOT director would now be reporting to Almond, she said: “Alviti is still the director of the Department of Transportation. He’s still the expert on the engineering, more so than Joe Almond. He is still leading.
“Joe Almond is there to coordinate. He is there to oversee, make sure information is flowing in all directions and we’re moving together as one-team.” Put another way: Alviti will “be running everything related to the bridge through Joe Almond to make sure we are all on the same page,” she said.