Washington Bridge crashes skyrocket after westbound closure. Here's the data.

PROVIDENCE – It is not your imagination: the number of crashes on the open span of the Washington Bridge skyrocketed in recent months.

"Our accidents are up almost three times," Gov. Dan McKee told reporters earlier this week. Before, he said there was about one crash a day. Now? "We're averaging about three accidents a day."

Data shows way more crashes on the bridge

In response to a Journal inquiry, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation provided crash data for the I-195 stretch that includes the Washington Bridge during the same two-month period this year and last, starting with Dec. 11, 2023, the date the westbound side of the Washington Bridge was officially closed.

• In 2022-23, there were a total of 101 crashes between Dec. 11 and Feb. 8, including 46 on I-195 in East Providence and 55 on I-195 in Providence.

• In 2023-24, there were a total of 246 crashes during the same period, including 168 crashes on I-195 in East Providence and 78 in Providence.

The DOT had no immediate information on the severity of the crashes, the impact on travel times for commuters and ambulances, or an explanation for why there would be such an uptick in collisions at the significantly reduced speeds required to squeeze all the lanes, going both ways, onto the eastbound span of the bridge.

But the DOT did say that the crash response time is down in the period from the end of 2023 to March, indicating that emergency workers are responding faster to those crashes.