CEO of Barletta, company working on Washington Bridge, steps down. What to know.

The longtime head of the construction company doing many of the largest and most heavily scrutinized transportation projects in Rhode Island – including the westbound Washington Bridge and the Route 6-10 Interchange – has stepped down as CEO.

Vincent Barletta resigned from the top job running Barletta Heavy Division on March 15 and became chairman of that company as well as Barletta Engineering, spokeswoman Patti Doyle said.

Michael Foley was named president of Barletta Heavy and there is no CEO.

Foley "has been a valued member of the leadership team for 26 years and his promotion comes at a time when Vin personally wished to step back from day-to-day operations," Doyle wrote.

What projects has Barletta worked on?

Canton, Massachusetts-based Barletta Heavy Division built the Pawtucket-Central Falls commuter rail station, is rebuilding the Routes 6-10 interchange and was rehabilitating the westbound Washington Bridge when the structure was found to be in danger of collapse.

An engineering subcontractor identified the problems with the bridge that triggered the emergency shutdown; there have been no public accusations that any of Barletta's work caused the structural problem.

Barletta and CEO have been in hot water recently

In 2022, Barletta agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and reimburse the federal government $1 million to settle allegations it used contaminated fill on the 6-10 project.

Attorney General Peter Neronha brought state charges against Barletta Heavy with illegal dumping on 6-10 in January 2023.

The change in the company's leadership came about three weeks after Vincent Barletta was arrested in Needham, Massachusetts, and charged with drunken driving and driving with a suspended license, according to an arrest log from Needham police.

On Feb. 23, an officer working a traffic detail outside a funeral reported a driver passed out behind the wheel of a pickup truck, according to a copy of the police report.

More: The westbound Washington Bridge is coming down. Here's what comes next.

The officer who responded to the scene said that when he tried to conduct a traffic stop, the pickup drove for about half a mile "through multiple pedestrians crossing the streets due to the ongoing funeral" before stopping, according to the report.

When the driver, Barletta, did stop, his speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol, the officer wrote in the report.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Vincent Barletta resigns as Barletta CEO after Washington Bridge, DUI