The Rhode Island  Turnpike and Bridge Authority announced due to the impact of the closure to the westbound side of the Washington Bridge, its Customer Service Center will in Newport at the Pell Bridge will be open for additional hours this month: December 14, 19  and 21 from 1-6 p.m.

 “The partial closure of the Washington Bridge in Providence has pushed a high volume of cars to the Newport Pell and Jamestown-Verrazzano bridges," said Lori Caron Silveira,, Executive Director of the RITBA.

She continued, "Yesterday,  traffic flowed freely for most of the day, but the westbound traffic at rush hour created significant delays for some drivers. We expect that we will continue to see an increased volume of traffic as drivers adjust to the temporary closure of the Washington Bridge.

“We are performing a critical maintenance project on the west side of the Newport bridge that necessitates a lane closure. We are not able to stop working, make the surface safe for transit, and open the lane. However, the open road tolling and the relatively light traffic for most of the day made our bridges a viable option for many travelers. 

“We are adding customer service hours and will be open from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Rhode Island E-Z Pass Customer Service Center on the next two Thursdays, December 14 and 21 and on Tuesday, December 19. The toll for Rhode Islanders with transponders is 83 cents. Without a transponder, the toll is $6.00 and will be sent by mail.”