Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti survived his February 2024 appearance before the House and Senate Oversight Committees by taking a conciliatory approach on the closure of the Washington Bridge – he apologized, engineer-splained most of the technical questions, and was generally given a pass from Democratic leadership in the legislature.

Now, 21 months later, Alviti is set to appear before each committee on Thursday for another high-stakes hearing on the bridge. Only this time lawmakers are coming in armed with an audit report that raised all kinds of questions about the transportation department’s maintenance of the bridge for many years.

He also appeared before the two committees earlier this year, but questions largely focused on the building of the new bridge.

The bigger picture: A lot has changed over the last two years – except the daily traffic jams as thousands of people try to drive to and from the East Bay on a bridge with fewer lanes. 

Lawmakers are angry because their constituents are angry, and you can expect to hear more frustration in their voices. They’re asking Alviti to appear under oath, which adds tension to the hearing even if it’s a largely symbolic gesture.

🥃 Here’s your afternoon drinking game: Take a shot (liquor, coffee milk, ginger ale) any time a committee member reminds the director that he's under oath.

The question is how much Alviti is willing to answer without citing the state’s ongoing lawsuit against vendors involved with the bridge over the years. Attorney General Peter Neronha has said he can answer questions, but that doesn’t mean he agrees.

Reality check: Just because a hearing is high-stakes does not guarantee it will be high-quality. Oversight hearings at any level always come with some amount of political theater, but House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Val Lawson have smartly brought in former US attorney Zachary A. Cunha to help guide the hearing along. He’s a credible person who can’t be written off as an opponent of Alviti or Governor Dan McKee.

Don’t expect anyone to leave the hearing fully satisfied. For one, the new bridge isn’t going to be complete until 2028, so traffic is going to be a problem for a while. 

More to the point, people’s opinions on Alviti have largely been formed. If you think he should be removed as director, your mind won’t be changed by anything he says today. Similarly, McKee probably isn’t going to part ways with Alviti based on an oversight hearing.

The hearing begins at 2 p.m. You can watch it here, and we'll have full coverage at Globe.com/RI.