More Than 600 RI Business Apply For Help After Bridge Closure: Report

RHODE ISLAND — More than 600 businesses in the Providence and East Providence area have applied for help since the Washington Bridge failed in December, bringing serious consequences for those operating along the route in Rhode Island, according to a WPRI report.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is helping through recovery locations, with Public Affairs Specialist Julie Garret telling the outlet that they offer economic injury disaster loans up to $2 million for businesses at a "very low" interest rate.

The administration's East Providence recovery location is closing Friday, though the Johnston, Cumberland, and North Providence locations will remain open, according to the outlet.

Read the full report in WPRI.

In a letter to the United States Small Business Administration in December, Rhode Island's Congressional delegation explained the "serious toll" the closure of this "vital corridor" will have on residents, commuters, and small businesses.

"Nearby businesses rely on the bridge for their daily operations," U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo said in a joint statement in December. "Customers might avoid areas surrounding the bridge due to traffic ... and businesses are already struggling to receive and send out deliveries."

The bridge could be closed for as long as a few more months after serious faults were found in some of the original 1960s bridge components during the bridge's reconstruction, officials said.

Governor Dan McKee has said that fixing the bridge is the "top priority in the state of Rhode Island right now."