Residents urge RITBA to release Mount Hope Bridge inspection report

BRISTOL, R.I. — East Bay residents are calling on the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority to make public an inspection report of the Mount Hope Bridge, a nearly 100-year-old structure, after the agency declined a public records request over security concerns.

RITBA has withheld the full report from a fall 2024 inspection of the bridge, prompting the concerned residents appealing the decision to Attorney General Peter Neronha’s Open Government Unit.

On January 15, the attorney general’s office upheld RITBA’s position, finding the agency was permitted under federal regulations to withhold the report while it undergoes a security review. RITBA said the report is considered sensitive security information (SSI) and must be reviewed by the Transportation Security Administration before it can be released. The determination of what is labeled as SSI is made by the inspection company.

The AG’s ruling also encouraged RITBA to disclose the report once the TSA completes its review and any sensitive material is redacted, noting the agency would be required to release a redacted version at that time. TSA was first asked to review the report in April 2025 and has yet to give a response.

A large-scale dehumidification project is underway at the Mount Hope Bridge to extend the lifespan of the suspension cables that support the structure. A federal grant application submitted in 2021 highlighted serious concerns about corrosion and broken wires within the bridge’s main cables.

ctualThe application cited long-term water infiltration that damaged thousands of individual wires and reduced the cables’ original strength over time. RITBA later obtained $27 million in federal funding for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2028.