Crashes More Than Doubled on the Washington Bridge

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Construction on the new westbound Washington Bridge finally began on June 10, 2026, two and a half years after the old span was abruptly closed. The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in November 2028.

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That leaves roughly two more years of six lanes of I-195 sharing the eastbound structure.

For most Rhode Islanders, that is a commuting problem. For anyone who gets hit out there, it is also a legal one, and the numbers explain why.

In the first two months after the December 11, 2023 closure, crash reports on the I-195 stretch that includes the bridge jumped from 101 to 246 compared with the same window a year earlier, according to RIDOT figures released to the Providence Journal. Governor Dan McKee described the shift at the time as going from about one crash a day to about three. More than 96,000 vehicles a day used the westbound bridge before it shut.

Providence personal injury attorney Louis W. Grande has practiced in Rhode Island for more than 30 years. He says the bridge has quietly changed the shape of the car accident claims that come through his office.

"The crashes out there are slow, and slow is what the insurance company works with," Grande said. "Nobody was doing 65. So the adjuster looks at the bumper, looks at the speed, and decides in advance that nobody could really be hurt. That assumption is wrong often enough that it should not be the starting point."

The argument Grande sees most often is what defense lawyers call a minor impact soft tissue position: light vehicle damage, therefore light injury.

It does not hold up well in practice. A stopped vehicle struck from behind at 15 miles an hour still moves the occupant's head through a full range of motion, and a driver who has been inching forward for 40 minutes is relaxed, often turned slightly, and not braced. Cervical strain, disc injury and concussion all show up in crashes that leave almost no mark on the bumper.

"The photographs of the car are not a medical record," Grande said. "But if you wait two weeks to see a doctor because you assume a fender bender cannot hurt you, the insurer gets to argue the gap in treatment instead of arguing the physics. That is the fight they would rather have."

Congestion crashes are rarely one car hitting one car. Chain reactions involving four or five vehicles are common on the bridge approaches, and so is a dispute over who actually started it.

Rhode Island handles that under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4, a pure comparative negligence rule. A driver's own share of the negligence does not bar recovery. Damages are reduced in proportion to the percentage the finder of fact assigns to them.

That makes Rhode Island unusual. Most states cut off recovery once a plaintiff passes 50 or 51 percent. Here there is no cutoff. A driver found 60 percent at fault can still recover 40 percent of their damages from the other parties.

It also means the percentage is the whole negotiation.

"In a five-car pileup everybody's insurer has an interest in pointing at somebody else," Grande said. "People hear a number like 50 percent and treat it as a finding. It is an opening position, and it is usually built on a recorded statement somebody gave in the first week."

The natural reaction to a crash in a lane configuration the state built is to ask whether the state is responsible.

It is a real question, but the recovery is limited. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-2, damages in a tort action against the State of Rhode Island or any political subdivision cannot exceed $100,000, with narrow exceptions. The same $100,000 cap applies to cities, towns, and fire districts under § 9-31-3.

For a serious injury case, that cap is often a fraction of the actual losses. The practical consequence is that the claim against the at-fault driver, and the driver's insurer, is still where the real recovery lives.

This raises the coverage problem. The bridge carries heavy Massachusetts and Connecticut traffic, and minimum-limits policies run out fast in a multi-vehicle crash with several injured claimants. Grande says uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy is the part almost nobody checks until they need it.

"People find out what their UM limits are on the worst day of their life," he said. "Go look at your declarations page this week. It takes five minutes and it is the single most useful thing a Rhode Island driver can do about this bridge."

Grande's list for anyone hit on or near the bridge is short.

Call police and insist on a report, even when traffic pressure makes everyone want to clear the lane. Photograph every vehicle involved, not just the two that touched, because the chain matters. Get the plate numbers of anyone who stops and the names of anyone who does not. Get examined within a day or two rather than waiting to see whether the stiffness passes. And decline a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer until you have talked to a lawyer.

The filing deadline is three years from the date of injury under Rhode Island's personal injury statute of limitations. Claims against the state have their own shorter notice and filing requirements, which is one more reason not to sit on it.

For drivers still crossing every day, Grande's advice is blunt.

"Two more years is a long time to drive on autopilot," he said. "The lanes are narrow, the merges are ugly, and everybody out there is irritated. Leave more room than feels necessary. That gap is the only thing between you and a claim you did not want."

Louis W. Grande handles car accident and truck accident claims throughout Rhode Island from his office on Smith Street in Providence. Consultations are free, and there is no fee unless the case is won.

About Louis W. Grande Injury Lawyer

Louis W. Grande Injury Lawyer is a Providence-based personal injury firm representing people hurt in car, motorcycle, truck and pedestrian crashes, as well as premises liability, dog bite, medical malpractice and wrongful death matters. The firm works from an office on Smith Street in Providence and serves clients throughout Rhode Island. Consultations are free, evening and weekend appointments are available, and the firm works in English and Spanish.

To learn more, visit louisgrande.com.

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