PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — If the eastbound side of the Washington Bridge takes on any damage, Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) officials say they will know immediately, thanks to the bridge's new structural health monitoring technology.

"It'll send us an automatic alert saying, 'Hey, you might want to look at span one,'" the department's chief engineer, Robert Rocchio, explained.

RIDOT said the bridge that stands today was replaced in 2008 and is expected to last 75 years. But the structural health monitoring system, which tracks how the bridge reacts to traffic, weather, or overweight trucks, was just installed.

Concerns had been raised about how a bridge that was only designed to carry eastbound traffic would handle vehicles moving in both directions.

"We can see eve

See Full Page