Robert “Bob” Rocchio named acting RIDOT director.

February appointment elevated 30-year veteran to key position.

A senior engineer and administrator with more than three decades of hands-on and managerial experience, Robert “Bob” Rocchio has been named as Acting Director for RIDOT, following the retirement of Peter Alviti, Jr., its longtime director. Rocchio brings a wealth of key competencies and attributes to the position. These include in-depth civil engineering knowledge and extensive experience in day-to-day project administration and oversight.

Most recently serving as Chief Engineer for Infrastructure since 2017, Rocchio provided oversight for 400 RIDOT employees across departments including Highway and Bridge Maintenance, Bridge Engineering, Environmental Compliance, Safety, Final Review and Fleet Operations. During this tenure, Rocchio was instrumental in implementing a comprehensive highway safety program that has reduced the number of highway fatalities in Rhode Island. This program has completely revamped the maintenance section of RIDOT while upgrading its equipment. It has also improved bridge inspection and maintenance: putting best practices in place while designing specific inspection protocols for complex bridges.

Continuing to build on RIDOT’s record of achievements.

In his new role, Rocchio is immediately tasked with ensuring continuity, project delivery and accountability across RIDOT’s diverse portfolio of projects — including the crucial Washington Bridge rebuild that progressed from the crisis management phase into an active reconstruction mode in June 2025.

The state of transportation infrastructure in Rhode Island has improved by leaps and bounds during the tenure of Director Alviti. All of us at CIRI, from the Executive Board to our member companies, truly look forward to partnering with Acting Director Rocchio to support RIDOT’s initiatives and objectives — while furthering the relationship we’ve collaborated to build for decades.