Cardi Corp. Construction Will Settle Over Defective I-Way Crash Railing

PROVIDENCE, RI — A contractor will pay half a million dollars to settle with the federal government. According to Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Dambruch, the government claimed Cardi Corporation improperly installed a crash railing on the I-195 I-way bridge and the approach. The issues with the railing came up after a 2013 car crash revealed a construction problem.

The federal government claimed the contractor, Cardi Corporation, had improperly changed the specifications about a structurally reinforcing steel rebar. The steel rebar was supposed to anchor the crash railing to the bridge.

"The railing is a critical part of the safety systems designed to prevent vehicles from veering off the roadway in the event of a crash," Dambruch's office explained. "In some areas, the rail is all that lies between the roadway and the river below." After the accident, the government investigated and tested the railing, which was new in 2007. The conclusion was "Cardi improperly installed the crash railing by cutting, eliminating, or altering key segments of structural reinforcing steel rebar that was intended to anchor the railing to the bridge." As a result, the investigators said, the railing was "unsafe, inadequate and, unfit for its intended use and/or not in compliance with project specifications."

The government went on to say "Cardi made these changes to the rail’s design without necessary approvals from the Rhode Island Department of Transpiration (“RIDOT”), the state agency responsible for overseeing the bridge project."

The federal government paid for 80 percent of the construction costs. The $500,000 represents "full recovery of FHWA federal funds used for the installation of the rail," Dambruch's office said.

The railing has been replaced since.

Courtesy Photo: RI Department of Transportation