Park Avenue Bridge Undergoing Repairs

CRANSTON, RI—Repairs have begun on a bridge that carries Park Avenue over Interstate 95, bringing possible lane closures and occasional detours to one of the city's busiest streets.

The DOT said in a news release that the bridge repairs will consist of painting, joint replacement and concrete repairs "designed to increase the longevity of the bridge."

Most of the work will take place at night from around 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. There should be no traffic restrictions during the day, but lane closures overnight are possible.

"RIDOT chose the overnight work schedule to minimize travel delay as much as possible," the news release stated.

When the detour is in place, drivers are encouraged to use Wellington Avenue as a detour.

Once repairs are completed on the western side of the bridge, work will switch to the eastern side, which could face nighttime closures as well.

The bridge was built in 1965 and has been in rough shape for many years. It carries about 15,000 cars per day.

This project is part of an $18 million project covering 26 bridges across the state. The specific repairs to the Park Avenue bridge are expected to cost $800,000.

Work should be completed by mid-summer.

The bridge is near another bridge on Park Avenue that was abruptly closed last year, sparking controversy because of the timing: the closure happened right after Governor Gina Raimondo announced the first version of the billion-dollar RhodeWorks plan to repair the state's crumbling infrastructure. And it just so happens that the closure forced Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello to find a new route from his Park Avenue law office to the State House.

Photo courtesy: RIDOT