RI AG settles lawsuit with 6/10 contractor, contractor strikes back with 3 lawsuits

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Barletta Construction, the 6/10 contractor, strikes back with lawsuits filed against the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, RI Analytical and Local 57.

Just recently, Barletta has agreed to pay the state $11 million in damages but is seeking more than triple that in these 3 lawsuits.

The 6/10 job was doomed from the start when RIDOT handed the contractor a terrible soil management plan. The soil management plan, drawn up by AECOM and approved by the state, directed Barletta to run a soil processing site with soils from all over the state being processed there for reuse. These soils range in type from type 1A/B to Type 2 for reuse, as described in the attached soil management plan. Barletta disposed of $4.5 million worth of heavily contaminated Type 2 soil for the state.

The AG’s lawsuit against Barletta was focused on the company bringing in Type 1B soil that was not approved. Despite being directed to do so by RIDOT employees in the middle of COVID, the AG saw this as a violation. If the job was shut down for lack of material the RIDOT employees could face COVID layoffs, taking massive pay-cuts. Despite his efforts to keep everyone working, the state saw an opportunity to make a buck and they went for it.

The real public health risk wasn’t the Type 1B soil Barletta used, but rather the 300,000 tons of Type 2 soil processed in the heart of Olneyville, near homes and low-income neighborhoods, as instructed by RIDOT. This was the state’s decision not the contractor’s.

The $11 million isn’t going to the state either. Neronha has arranged to redirect those funds to David Cicilline at the Rhode Island Foundation. Once there, tax payers will have no way to track how it is spent.

$11 million seems like a lot to the average person but to a massive company like Barletta Construction, it’s not. How many more large out-of-state companies will our AG and DOT scare off? Will we pay more for future projects because of it? Will the Washington Bridge rebuild top $1 billion because of it?