Hamlet Ave. Bridge Repairs Begin, Expect Delays Through 2017

WOONSOCKET, RI—Work to repair the decrepit Hamlet Avenue Bridge has officially begun. And with the $2.8 million construction price tag will come lane closures and the potential for traffic headaches.

The state Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it had commenced work on the bridge, which carries Route 122 over the Blackstone River and was built in 1959.

The first phase of the project will come with a lane reduction and shift with one lane of travel open in each direction. The DOT said in a news release that motorists should ”plan extra travel time, especially in the area of Woonsocket MIddle School,” which is just west of the bridge.

The lane reduction will be in place until the spring of 2016 when lanes will be shifted again for work on the other side of the bridge.

The project isn’t expected to be complete until 2017, though all travel lanes are expected to be open by the end of next year, weather depending.

Truck traffic heading west is now being detoured, though there is no truck detour for eastbound traffic, the DOT said.

The rehab entails concrete and steel repairs. The bridge is currently listed as structurally deficient and being supported by temporary shoring towers.

The bridge carries nearly 20,000 vehicles per day.

Photo courtesy: RIDOT