Sakonnet River Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sakonnet River Bridge is a four-lane truss bridge spanning the Sakonnet River in eastern Rhode Island. The bridge carries RI 24 and RI 138 between the communities of Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island. The bridge is scheduled to be replaced by an updated design, with construction work scheduled to finish in 2015.
The Sakonnet River Bridge was built in 1956 as a replacement for the Stone Bridge, about 0.8 mi (1.3 km) to the south, destroyed during Hurricane Carol in August 1954. It became part of RI 24 during the 1960s after the completion of the Portsmouth and Tiverton Expressways. At one point, it was briefly considered for inclusion as part of the never-built Interstate 895.
By the late 1990s, the Sakonnet River Bridge's design had become obsolete, and transportation planners began to develop a plan for the bridge's future. In 2003, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced plans for a replacement bridge to be built just south of the existing bridge. Work is scheduled to begin in 2007, should be completed by 2015, and is projected to cost US$110 million.
The adjacent Sakonnet river railway bridge was built in 1899 by the Pennsylvania Steel Co. It was closed in 1980 after it was damaged by an overweight train loaded with military equipment. The swing bridge was left in the open position to allow boat traffic to pass but a barge ran into it in 1988. The bridge swing structure was removed in late 2006 and the supporting piers were demolished by explosion on February 9th, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Photograph of Railway bridge demolition February 9th, 2007, courtesy Projo.com.
- Photograph of Sakonnet River Bridge, circa 1970.
- Web site containing engineering impact documents for the replacement of the Sakonnet River Bridge.
- Newspaper article about the replacement of the Sakonnet River Bridge.
