- Ted, it's good to have you back.

I wanna break down how much this new soccer stadium in Pawtucket is costing taxpayers.

But first let's talk about the Washington Bridge.

The westbound side remains closed, and as we sit here, we still don't know if that bridge will need to be torn down.

- No, Michelle, lawmakers are saying they continue to be assured by the Department of Transportation and Director Peter Alviti that they'll make an announcement by mid-March about the fate of the bridge.

I do think at this point, most, the vast majority of people I speak to at the State House thar are involved in politics think the bridge is going to have to be replaced, but that is not official yet.

- Well, and one of the reasons that people think that is because of this leaked draft report that came out by an engineering firm that's studying the bridge.

You and your colleagues at WPRI 12 were the first to report on this.

I wanna read a small section of that.

It says, quote, "The repairs and strengthening required are significant, have limited viability, and have significant risk associated with them.

To fully eliminate these risk and improve inspection, maintenance, and repair access would require the demolition and replacement of the superstructure, and potentially a full bridge replacement."

Ted, when you hear that, it's hard to imagine a situation where the bridge is not torn down.

- Exactly, Michelle, right?

It's hard to imagine what engineering firm is going to want to be the dissenting voice as these multiple reports start to flow in and say, "No, the bridge is fine.

Just a few minor repairs and it'll be okay."

You'd be taking a lot of risk on.

I also think people found, even though we all know the bridge has some problems, that's obviously apparent, I think seeing that report and the level of concern of those engineers talking about, pieces of the bridge could have just dropped off onto Gano Street- - Wow.

- Where a lot of people are driving, or into the Seekonk River, and this was new to me, could hit the foundation that the closed westbound bridge shares with the newer open eastbound bridge damaging both.

So I think seeing the level of concern that these engineers had when they really took a close look at the bridge is only gonna add to these questions about, are the inspections enough, and does the state have a full handle on the bridges?

- And meanwhile, of course, drivers are dealing with longer commute times and varied commute times.

The state has said, "Look, we do plan to add two more lanes to the eastbound side," but that's still several weeks away.

- Yeah, I think we're looking at by the end of April, they think that'll be done.

And it's interesting in part, Michelle, that timing, I think, because that means we're talking about those new lanes coming online well after we're expecting a decision on the fate of the bridge.

And again, it's just hard to think they'd be doing that kind of significant fix, if they didn't think the bridge was gonna be out of commission for quite an extended period of time.

- Let's turn to the soccer stadium under construction in Pawtucket.

I think a lot of people say, "Look, this is reminiscent of the 38 Studios debacle," and the numbers are alarming.

So Rhode Island taxpayers are being asked to pay $132 million to fund $27 million of construction.

How do these numbers make sense?

- Yeah, you don't have to be Warren Buffet, I think, Michelle, to know that's not a great financial deal for the taxpayers.

I was struck by, Bloomberg News's National Bond Reporter was so surprised by these terms that he actually filed a story, and he pointed out that the amount Rhode Island is having to pay to borrow this money is equivalent to what the government of Pakistan has to pay to borrow money.

So really pretty onerous terms here for the taxpayers.

- Which begs the question, why wouldn't the state say, "Hey, instead of agreeing to expensive borrowing terms, let's look for a cheaper way to get this $27 million to fund the construction."

Which, by the way, is only of the soccer stadium, not everything else surrounding it.

- That's exactly right.

I think it's politics, Michelle.

I think, state officials who wanted this deal certainly didn't have confidence that if they put the bond on the November election ballot, which would've been a much cheaper way to borrow, 'cause it's seen as more safe, that the voters would've gone along and actually approved it.

Then another option could have been, you could have asked the General Assembly to just appropriate the $27 million, just a straight line item in the budget.

But of course, I don't think state lawmakers wanted to take an affirmative vote to put $27 million into the stadium.

So what did they do?

They came up with this kind of arcane financing mechanism where the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency borrowed the money, but with the promise that state tax revenue would be used to pay back the bond.

And they said, "Well, it should all come from the part of Pawtucket around the stadium.

But if that isn't enough money, the governor will ask the General Assembly to find more money and backfill the bond and make sure they get paid."

So these bond holders are getting quite a rich return for a bond that looks pretty safe, frankly.

- It's no wonder that people are skeptical about how government obviously uses taxpayer money, and this stadium is set to open next year.

- Yeah, and I think your point about 38 Studios is a good one.

There is understandably some PTSD in Rhode Island about how these bond deals come together at the State House.

And so I think that's also feeding into people's concern about this.

- We'll be monitoring it.

Thanks so much, Ted, I appreciate it.

- Good to be here.

- Thanks.

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