The $779 million I-95 bridge project in Rhode Island, funded by a federal grant and RIDOT, will address 15 bridges over 7 years, improving safety and traffic flow. The design-build method delivers rapid construction, facilitating the removal of structurally deficient bridges and enhancing key freight routes.
Photo courtesy of RIDOT
RIDOT did a similar bridge replacement less than a mile away in 2023.
Only weeks after the Rhode Island Congressional delegation announced news of a $251 million federal grant to fund the new I-95 15 bridges project, work is already under way.
"We are doing the first bridge of 15," said RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin III. "It's a design-build so by its nature it's already begun. They are mobilizing, preparing and gathering material. It's a very long project, addressing 15 bridges over seven years, so it goes to 2031."
The federal grant, the largest ever awarded to RIDOT, "will remove 15 bridges from the state's backlog of poor and fair to poor condition bridges along I-95 and Route 10 between Providence and Warwick," St. Martin said.
Nine of the bridges are structurally deficient with three rated among the top five most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Rhode Island.
"The project will take a major step in addressing the I-95 corridor holistically, to encourage the safe movement of almost 200,000 vehicles and $9.7 billion in freight. About 9,000 trucks and heavy freight vehicles use this corridor, which includes hospitals, businesses and universities, daily," St. Martin said.
The $779 million project was awarded to the design-build, joint-venture team of Skanska, McCourt and Aetna Bridge.
Photo courtesy of RIDOT
The first project will replace the bridge on southbound Route 95 over Elmwood Avenue in Providence. Using a rapid bridge construction technique, crews will do half of the project one weekend and the second half the next weekend. Traffic will be restricted on that portion of I-95 as crews demolish the existing bridge, then lower prefabricated units into place. They'll close any gaps, pave the deck and reopen to traffic.
RIDOT did a similar bridge replacement less than a mile away in 2023.
"They generally start on a Friday and are usually done by Monday morning," St. Martin said. "Last fall we did a series of four weekend closures. That worked very well. There's some traffic congestion on the weekend, but it enabled us to replace the bridge in such a fashion, it did not affect weekday traffic."
Work to replace the bridge on northbound I-95 over Elmwood is scheduled for two weekends in November.
The project will see the repair or replacement of 11 bridges, as well as the removal of four bridges, St. Martin said.
"One of the bridges is part of an old right-of-way for our electric company here in Providence. It's no longer needed or used so it will be filled in. There are three other bridges that won't be needed because we are redesigning the Route 10 and I-95 interchange.
"As part of the design, Route 10 forms what is called the Huntingdon Viaduct that runs across I-95, train tracks and a local road. That's going to be reimagined. That removes two bridge onramps. There's a portion of Route 10 that will be rebuilt as a boulevard. At the end of that road where it reaches Park Avenue [Route 12] there is a bridge there because now it functions as a highway, but with the new design we won't need that bridge."
In addition to the $251 million federal grant, RIDOT will fund the project through a combination of other federal formula funds along with state matching funds.
"These bridges were programmed in our 10-year state transportation improvement plan," St. Martin said. "We chose to apply for this grant to address bridge conditions and also to make a number of other improvements. We've bundled a few different projects together that had already been planned into a larger project."
According to RIDOT the project will:
- Reduce the number of bridges rated poor by 7.6 percent;
- Reduce the total deck area of bridges rated poor by 17.5 percent;
- Remove permit restrictions affecting the majority of all truck freight;
- Improve the flow of 45.2 billion tons of truck freight annually; and
- Eliminate three of the top five most travelled structurally deficient bridges in the state.
Lori Tobias
Lori Tobias is a journalist of more years than she cares to count, most recently as a staff writer for The Oregonian and previously as a columnist and features writer for the Rocky Mountain News. She is the author of the memoir, Storm Beat - A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast, and the novel Wander, winner of the Nancy Pearl Literary Award in 2017. She has freelanced for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Denver Post, Alaska Airlines in-flight, Natural Home, Spotlight Germany, Vegetarian Times and the Miami Herald. She is an avid reader, enjoys kayaking, traveling and exploring the Oregon Coast where she lives with her husband Chan and rescue pups, Gus and Lily.
Read more from Lori Tobias here.
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