Summer Ending, Wickford Gears for Return of Hussey Bridge Closure

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI—Traffic through Wickford Village will be disrupted once again come Sept. 6 when the Clarence L. Hussey Memorial Bridge closes for a second time this year as part of a larger $3.2 million bridge reconstruction project.

The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that work on the bridge, which carries Boston Neck Road (Route 1A) over Wickford Cove, should reopen by mid-November.

The DOT planned to reopen the bridge during the busier summer months to alleviate traffic problems during events like the Wickford Art Festival.

The project could have been completed with at least one lane open at all times, but DOT officials indicate that the closure will enable the project to be completed sooner and before winter 2017.

While the bridge was open during the summer, crews replaced rivets with bolts, cleaned and painted floor beams and pointed and grouted behind bridge abutments.

Once closed, work will proceed on bridge joint replacement, cleaning, power washing, painting of the arches, concrete and steel repairs and numerous finishing touches. The project reportedly is on schedule and is expected to be finished in June 2017.

"We are one-step closer to finalizing our repairs to the Hussey Bridge," said DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. "Through this closure, we're able to maintain our schedule while we work to restore and return this bridge to the town of North Kingstown."

Project planners took care to ensure the bridge's historic significance is not molested. The steel components above the water will be painted a graphite color to match the original and concrete surfaces will be coated in a mineral to protect from the elements.

The project also includes accessibility upgrades and sidewalk, road and railing repairs.

The first bridge to cross the cove was wooden and its construction many years ago marked a period of economic growth and expansion for North Kingstown. It enabled people to easily cross the cove and led to the construction of Town Hall on the other side of the water, Aliviti said.

The current bridge was built in 1925 and designed by Hussey, an engineer from MIT, who was one of the first bridge engineers ever employed by the state, Alviti said.

He worked out of the basement of the capitol building and took 40,000 pictures to inventory every bridge in the state. He redesigned many of the wooden bridges dotting the state, which led to the construction of the bridge that has become a town icon.

The Hussey bridge is part of the Wickford National Register Historic District.

The closure will severely impact traffic on the road. Detour information is available at the DOT's website.