Rhode Island has quietly let one more company off the hook in its sprawling lawsuit over the Washington Bridge, dismissing all claims against Tiverton-based Aries Support Services, Inc. without prejudice. The move, finalized Monday, shrinks the list of companies the state is suing over the bridge's structural failures from 13 down to 11.
Aries worked as a subcontractor on the Washington Bridge repair project under AECOM Technical Services, the state's lead technical consultant, according to The Providence Journal. AECOM itself remains a defendant in the case, meaning the engineering giant still faces the brunt of the state's claims even as its smaller subcontractor walks away.
Rhode Island officials filed the lawsuit in August 2024, accusing 13 companies of shoddy work maintaining or fixing the bridge, whose westbound span closed abruptly in December 2023 amid fears it could collapse, as reported by WPRI. The state's original announcement, made jointly by Attorney General Peter Neronha and Gov. Dan McKee, alleged the companies failed to timely and adequately identify worsening structural issues before the sudden closure, according to the Governor's Office.
Why the State Cut Aries Loose
Timothy Rondeau, a spokesman for Neronha, explained the decision to drop Aries in terms of where the evidence is pointing. Based on discovery produced by defendants to date, Rondeau said, the material highlights the central role of other defendants in the conduct at issue, and the state will continue to pursue its claims against the remaining 11 defendants, per the same account from the Journal.
Aries is not the first company to be released from the case this year. Commonwealth Engineers and Consultants Inc. was dropped from the lawsuit in June, making Aries the second dismissal of 2026, the station notes. The state's claims against the companies still in the suit include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence, with officials alleging the firms failed to notice and report systemic issues with the bridge leading up to its closure.
Discovery Fights Could Delay Trial
The case remains far from resolution. More than two years after it was filed, the lawsuit is still in the information-gathering discovery phase, with both sides sparring over what records must be turned over. Defendants have accused the state of producing an indefensibly sparse record and withholding communications involving Gov. McKee's inner circle, while the state has countered that some of those requests are overly broad, burdensome or privileged, according to WPRI's reporting.
Those disputes have real stakes for the case's timeline. The state has asked for a six-month extension of discovery deadlines and the trial date, an extension that, if granted, would push the trial into 2028, per WPRI. That request stands in tension with a court schedule reported in August 2025 by Rhode Island Current, which set discovery to wrap up by May 16, 2027, ahead of a trial slated to begin in November 2027; it is not clear from available records which schedule currently governs the case.
For now, the lawsuit grinds on with AECOM and the other ten remaining defendants still facing the state's allegations, even as Rhode Island narrows its sights on who it believes bears the greatest responsibility for the bridge's failure.
