Workers begin takedown of old Sakonnet River Bridge

'Pre-demolition' work not expected to impact traffic

Jim McGaw
Posted 2/28/17

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — More than four years after the new Sakonnet River Bridge opened to traffic, the state is finally ready to remove her rusty older sister that sits just to the …

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Workers begin takedown of old Sakonnet River Bridge

'Pre-demolition' work not expected to impact traffic

Posted

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — More than four years after the new Sakonnet River Bridge opened to traffic, the state is finally removing her rusty older sister that sits just to the north.

Pre-demolition work on the old span started Wednesday morning, March 1, by S&R Corporation, the contractor selected by the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to do the first phase of the job. S&R, whose bid of $9.4 million was the lowest among six applicants, is expected to spend about one year taking down the span’s superstructure. 

The only work taking place this week, however, is the installation of “exclusionary bird setting” on the old structure to discourage nesting by Peregrine falcons, Town Administrator Richard Rainer Jr. told the Town Council Monday night. Charles St. Martin, RIDOT spokesman, confirmed the news during an interview on Tuesday.

“This work is scheduled to take seven days to complete and will be performed from the old bridge deck with no traffic impacts,” Mr. Rainer said.

More extensive work begins March 13, when the contractor will inspect the old span’s condition. 

“This work will be performed using boom lifts on the old bridge deck, on land below the bridge on both the Tiverton and Portsmouth sides, and on sectional floats placed in the water,” Mr. Rainer said. “This work is anticipated to take three days to complete and is necessary to develop a final demolition plan and procedure.”

The work should have “minimal impact on vehicular and boat traffic,” the administrator said.

RIDOT will provide a minimum of 48 hours’ notice whenever any lane closures or detours are required, and will use police details and flaggers in those cases, Mr. Rainer said. The department also plans to hold a series of informational meetings for residents in proximity of the project, he said.

‘Piece by piece’

Mr. St. Martin said the superstructure will be taken apart “piece by piece” using cranes and other heavy equipment. 

“The first phase is the demolition of basically everything above the water line. We’re focusing on the deck and the superstructure. We don’t expect any big lane closures on the bridge or Route 24 as part of the work,” he said, adding that it will be a daytime job, “most likely from 7 to 3.”

Demolishing the superstructure will involve the removal of 17 spans between the bridge's piers (a total of 2,178 feet), including about 6.2 million pounds of steel and 2,700 cubic yards of concrete, he said.

Second phase

Although the bridge demolition was originally envisioned as one contract, RIDOT decided to break it into two jobs since removing the underwater concrete portion of the structure will require a more detailed permitting process to satisfy environmental concerns, he said.

RIDOT, which hopes to begin the second phase shortly after the superstructure comes down, is still exploring the best way to remove those concrete supports. Mr. St. Martin said it will most likely involve “controlled explosives,” similar to what was used to demolish the former railroad swing bridge, as well as the old Jamestown Bridge.

The total project cost for both contracts is estimated at $15 million, he said.

The old Sakonnet River Bridge, a truss bridge that was built to replace the Stone Bridge further south, was opened in 1956.

Construction on the new Sakonnet River Bridge, just south of the old span, began in April 2009 and the bridge was opened to traffic in September 2012.

Sakonnet Bridge, Sakonnet River Bridge, RIDOT

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.