Center of old Sakonnet Bridge set for ‘spectacular’ removal

10-hour operation will lower the span onto a two-barge platform

By DeWolf Fulton
Posted 4/5/18

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — The massive center span of the old Sakonnet River Bridge is scheduled this week to be separated from either side, lowered onto a barge platform and floated up Mt. …

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Center of old Sakonnet Bridge set for ‘spectacular’ removal

10-hour operation will lower the span onto a two-barge platform

Posted

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — The massive center span of the old Sakonnet River Bridge is scheduled this week to be separated from either side, lowered onto a barge platform and floated up Mt. Hope Bay to be cut apart in Fall River.

It promises to be a spectacular sight, according to Jody Richards, project manager for the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT), who last week detailed the operation from the bicycle path on the new Sakonnet River Bridge. 

From that point, spectators will be able to observe the span removal on Friday, April 6. 

“This will be quite a process,” Mr. Richards said, adding that wind, tide and other factors will be taken into consideration. If necessary, the operation will run into the night to be completed. 

Charles St. Martin, RIDOT spokesman, said the job can also be observed from Riverside Drive along the Tiverton shoreline. "It's a long process, and it may happen at 10 a.m. or at 10 p.m.,” he said.

This week, two barges with jacking systems will merge together in the channel and maneuvered into position beneath the center span. Working with a rising tide, it will take five hours to elevate the jacks into position to engage the bridge.

The center span will then be separated from the piers on either side. It will take another five hours working with a lowing tide to drop the span into place onto the barges to be transported to Fall River. The operation calls for calm waters.

This past week, Mr. Richards said crews worked to buttress the piers and stabilize them once the center is removed. “We don't want any shifting, stress or deflection,” he said.

July completion predicted

Removal of the remaining steel superstructure is scheduled to be completed in July. A total 6.2 million pounds of steel and 2,700 cubic yards of concrete will be removed in completing the project. Concrete slabs of the roadway were already cut into manageable sections and removed to be processed into aggregate for reuse. 

Removal of the bridge superstructure is phase one of the entire project, Mr. Richards said. The total cost of this phase has been $15 million, including engineering and permitting, he said. The portion of this phase that includes the removal of steel and concrete by S&R Corp of Lowell, Mass. cost a total of $9.4 million.

The concrete slabs are taken to Tiverton Materials on Fish Road in Tiverton for processing and reuse, according to RIDOT.

The steel is delivered to Mid City Scrap metal dealers in Westport, Mass., where it is cut to size, loaded on railroad cars and delivered to a number of domestic steel mills, largely in the midwest, according to Mark Gitlin, the company’s general manager.

“This is a beautiful thing,” Mr. Gitlin said, "to have all the scrap steel from the Sakonnet River Bridge melted down and like a phoenix reborn into a brand-new product that we buy back here at Mid City.” He said the steel will likely be fabricated into steel beams, chain, angle iron or plate. 

Mr. Gitlin said he did not believe any of the scrap steel was headed out of the country, and acknowledged, “I’m looking to do my part” to help the domestic steel industry. He said “things are changing with (President Donald) Trump's tariffs” as far as China ranking as the largest producer of steel worldwide. 

Phase one of the bridge removal began in March 2017. At that time, RIDOT placed a netting under the span to keep migratory birds from nesting. Much of the netting was torn away by winter storms, but Mr. St. Martin said the nesting issue is not presently a concern.

Opened in 1956

The old Sakonnet River Bridge was originally opened in 1956. It was closed in 2012 with the opening of the new bridge. However, when marine studies on the impact of threatened and endangered species had not been completed, RIDOT split the project into two contracts to expedite removal of the bridge. 

The second phase will include removal of the in-water and land-based substructure, perhaps with use of controlled explosives as it did for part of the railroad trestle adjacent to the old bridge, RIDOT said.

RIDOT does not yet have a cost estimate for the second phase, but intends to begin work as soon as possible after completion of the first contract. Mr. Richards said he anticipates completion of phase two to be in late 2019 or 2020.

Sakonnet River Bridge RIDOT

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