EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The demolition of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge is on abrupt pause with the state citing the need to “preserve evidence” of its failure. The Attorney General’s Office announcing Tuesday evening that the demolition has come to a complete halt to get evidence for the state’s lawsuits against companies related to the Washington Bridge. RIDOT already started the demolition work just over a week ago and there were plans to temporarily shut down Waterfront Dr. in East Providence Tuesday evening as part of that work. ABC 6 News confirmed with the DOT that is no longer happening. It’s important to note, the company working on the demolition, Aetna, is one of the companies named in the lawsuit. In a joint statement to ABC 6 News, the AG’s office and Gov. McKee’s office said in part, “The engineers for RIDOT, in cooperation with the state’s legal team, have reached the point in the demolition of the Washington Bridge where work must be paused to preserve evidence for the legal case.” That statement went on to say that the goal is to be able to continue demolition as soon as possible while making sure they get that evidence. Now the question ABC 6 News is working on getting answers to is, why did RIDOT start the demolition work before getting the evidence they need? No word on how long the pause on the demolition project will last. Categories: News, Rhode Island