The RhodeWorks plan to repair roads and bridges was approved by the Rhode Island General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Gina M. Raimondo on February 11, 2016. The legislation (2016-H 7409Aaa, 2016 - S 2246Aaa) creates a funding source that will allow the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to repair more than 150 structurally deficient bridges and make repairs to another 500 bridges to prevent them from becoming deficient, bringing 90 percent of the State's bridges into structural sufficiency by 2025.
The Route 6/10 Interchange Reconstruction project is the largest single construction contract ever awarded in Rhode Island at $410 million. This massive project will reconstruct the entire interchange while replacing or removing the seven structurally deficient bridges in the interchange.
This project will replace the structurally deficient northbound section of the Providence Viaduct Bridge. This large structure carries the highest volume of highway traffic in Rhode Island and is a critical transportation link for the city and state.
Thanks to the efforts of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation in securing a $60.3 million federal INFRA grant, we not only will replace the Viaduct, but will rebuild 11 bridges in total, many of which are of critical safety concern and will correct the inefficiencies, congestion and safety issues that exist today.
The $78 million Washington Bridge project is much more than a bridge project. While it will address the structural deficiencies of the westbound portion of the Washington Bridge, which carries I-195 over the Seekonk River between East Providence and Providence, it also includes a new off-ramp to support economic development opportunities and address chronic congestion issues on the Interstate.
Known as the Red Bridge, Henderson is a 26-span steel girder structure spanning 2,000 feet over the Seekonk River. It carries 20,000 vehicles per day and connects the cities of Providence and East Providence.
The bridge was over built. RIDOT will demolish it and build a narrower structure with two lanes of travel in the westbound direction and one lane of travel in the eastbound direction.
Our project for Broad Street covers a three-mile corridor starting at Exchange Street in Pawtucket, through Central Falls and ending at Mendon Road in Cumberland. The work includes a new road surface, new curbs and sidewalks, ADA improvements, new bike lanes, upgraded drainage systems and traffic signals, and a number of other pedestrian and streetscape improvements to make the corridor safer for all users.
The project also includes drainage repairs on Mendon Road from Route 99 to Ann & Hope Way in Cumberland.
Improvements to Route 37 will be made in two separate projects that will rehabilitate or replace 22 bridges and make safety and congestion improvements in this critical east-west freeway in central Rhode Island, linking the cities of Cranston and Warwick, major retail, office and residential areas, Interstate highways and T.F. Green State Airport. With a daily traffic count of 42,000 vehicles, Route 37 is one of the state's busiest corridors.
The West River Bridge project includes replacement of Bridge No. 088301 over the West River in Providence, RI. The Bridge was built in 1955 and is rated as structurally deficient. It carries approximately 8,000 vehicles per day and serves as an important connector road between Branch Avenue and Charles Street, providing access to numerous businesses.
RIDOT is completely replacing this 85-year-old bridge, which reopened to traffic in January 2023, after being closed since July 2020 because of its poor structural condition. At 167 feet long, this large bridge carries Reservoir Avenue over Amtrak freight rail lines and is a vital link for the Elmwood and Reservoir Avenue neighborhoods, especially for students who walk and bike to Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School.
Providence Station is about to get a long-awaited and well-deserved renovation that will make it once again the vibrant urban transit center it is meant to be. This station services more than two million passengers a year, making it the 11th most utilized station in the country. Providence Station has one of the highest riderships in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail system. In addition, freight rail passes through the station by the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (P&W).
The project includes a wide range of safety improvements for motorists and pedestrians on a portion of Mount Pleasant Avenue in Providence (from Smith Street to Beaufort Street) and at two intersections: North Main Street and Randall Street/Doyle Avenue in Providence and Hartford Avenue at Bishop Hill Road in Johnston.
This project is addressing a number of bridge deficiencies and maintenance issues for five bridges in Providence, including those that carry essential roads connecting neighborhoods and business districts on either side of the I-95 corridor.
We will completely replace the Park Avenue Railroad Bridge, which carries Park Avenue (Route 12) over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Elmwood Avenue (Route 1) and Wellington Avenue in Cranston. The bridge has been structurally deficient for many years and dates back to 1906.
We are replacing the Greenville Avenue Bridge, which is actually two spans that carry I-295 over Greenville Avenue at the Exit 10 interchange in Johnston.
To minimize the effect on highway traffic, we built a temporary bridge in between the two bridges and will shift traffic onto it as needed. In 2020 we demolished and replaced the southbound bridge. In 2021, we will replace the northbound bridge.
RIDOT rehabilitated four bridges that carry I-295 at its interchange with Routes 6 and 6A in Johnston (Exit 9). They carry an average of 76,000 vehicles per day on both through lanes and service roads at this interchange. Also as part of this project, RIDOT decommissioned two bridges built to accommodate an expansion of the interchange that was never built. This eliminates future maintenance costs. These bridges were nearly 50 years old, and the superstructures were at the end of their service lives.
RIDOT replaced the deck of the Oxford Street Bridge, which carries I-95 over Oxford Street between Exit 18 (Thurbers Avenue) and the I-195 interchange. As part of this $10.8 million project, we implemented a series of temporary traffic patterns with lane splits so all areas of the bridge deck could be replaced.
The Providence Pedestrian Bridge spans the Providence River. The project included the construction of waterfront park improvements along the east and west side of the river. Site work included construction of concrete walkways, stone dust walkways, pre-cast concrete modular block and cast-in-place retaining walls, site lighting/electrical, landscaping and some site furnishings.
* All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.