Cranston To Inspect Many Bridges For 1st Time In Decades: Reports

CRANSTON, RI —Cranston is set to conduct a systemic evaluation of its bridges and culverts for the first time in decades, Mayor Ken Hopkins said, according to multiple reports.

Inspectors with the engineering firm Pare Corporation will check the conditions of the bridges "in the interest of public safety" and offer any repair recommendations, after which the city will develop an infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation plan, WPRI reported, citing Hopkins.

The bridge investigations will cost around $84,800, while the culvert inspections will cost $69,000, according to ABC6.

"The public should be assured that we have no immediate concern for any of the structures to be reviewed," Hopkins said, according to the outlet. "We want to be proactive in being ahead of serious problems ... This scope of work was outlined months ago and has no connection to the timing of the closure issues the state is facing with the Washington Bridge."

The following bridges are set to be inspected:

• Gansett Avenue over Washington Secondary Bike Path
• Dean Parkway over Washington Secondary Bike Path
• Phenix Avenue over Furnace Hill Brook
• Garden City Drive over Pocasset River
• Haven Avenue over Pocasset River
• Main Street over Clark Brook
• Kimberly Lane over Furnace Hill Brook

And the following culverts:

• Natick Avenue over an unknown tributary to Meshanticut Brook
• Natick Avenue at Furnace Hill Brook
• Furnace Hill Road at Furnace Hill Brook
• Phenix Avenue over unknown tributary to Meshanticut Brook
• Beechwood Drive over Furnace Hill Brook
• Wilbur Avenue over Meshanticut Brook
• Dyer Aver new #1315

Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that about 15,000 bridges in poor condition, including 148 in Rhode Island, were being targeted for repair and improvement under a five-year, $27 billion program.

The administration released nearly $5.5 billion to states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia and tribes during the 2022 fiscal year to fund the program, which the administration said is “the single largest dedicated bridge investment” since the interstate highway system was authorized in the 1950s.

Rhode Island received a total of $47.1 million in 2022 and was set to receive $235.5 million over five years, officials said at the time. Some of the bridges in Rhode Island listed in poor condition include many highway overpasses in downtown Providence, all of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s.