Major bridge project underway in Rhode Island

Work is underway on a project to address 15 Rhode Island bridges in poor or fair-to-poor condition along Interstate 95 and state Route 10 between Providence and Warwick.

The largest federal grant ever awarded to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation will help support this $779 million bridge project.

This grant was among the Large Bridge Project grants awarded in July.

“We thank the Federal Highway Administration for this unprecedented level of support, and we tip our hats to our Congressional Delegation for their efforts to secure this funding — an investment that will keep I-95 operating safely and efficiently for decades to come,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a news release.

Rhode Island officials said nine of these 15 bridges are structurally deficient, while three are among the top five most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in the state.

Of the bridges, 11 will be repaired and four will be removed. The state DOT also plans to rebuild state Route 10 from Elmwood Avenue to Park Avenue.

The I-95 bridge over Elmwood Avenue in Providence will be the first to be repaired using accelerated bridge construction methods.

We completed our work on the Providence Street Bridge slide overnight, paving the road and reopening it to traffic by 6 a.m. today. 🏗️

Here’s a timelapse video of the entire operation over this past weekend: pic.twitter.com/LEOWaPCuwp

— RIDOTNews (@RIDOTNews) August 20, 2024

Bridge project closures

Two weekend-long closures are planned beginning on Friday, Aug. 23 as well as on Sept. 6 from state Route 37 West to Interstate 295 North for the Cranston Canyon bridge project.

The closures are scheduled to take place both weekends from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

During the closure, a detour will be in place. A section of the Washington Secondary Bike Path will also be detoured as part of the Sept. 6 closure.

Those utilizing the ramp from I-295 South to state Route 37 will need to come to a full stop before merging onto Route 37 during both weekend closures.

The existing bridge is being demolished, and a new bridge will be slid into place using self-propelled modular transporters, the Rhode Island DOT said. LL

Read more news from Rhode Island.