State: Old Sakonnet Bridge demo to start in spring

PORTMSMOUTH/TIVERTON —  The R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced Tuesday it has begun the process of selecting a contractor to remove the vacant old Sakonnet River Bridge across the Sakonnet River between Portsmouth and Tiverton.

The advertising process for contractors to submit bids will last approximately one month, with the bid opening scheduled for November 2. RIDOT expects to award a contract for the $23.6 million project by the end of the year, with work starting in spring 2017.

The contract is the first of two contracts to remove the entire bridge, and will focus on the bridge's deck and superstructure. Once work begins, the removal of the superstructure is expected to take approximately one year, and RIDOT said it will try to limit the impact of the work on the summer boating season. The project will be completed in spring 2018.

"The removal of the old Sakonnet River Bridge is long overdue, and the delay in demolishing it is one of the legacy problems we inherited from the previous administration," RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. said. "We're eager to begin this work and remove this visual eyesore from the Sakonnet River."

This phase of the demolition will include the removal of 17 spans between the bridge's piers, a total of 2,178 feet. This includes approximately 6.2 million pounds of steel and 2,700 cubic yards of concrete. Working from the bridge deck as well as from barges and cranes, the contractor will dismantle the bridge using mechanical methods so that there will be no bridge debris entering the water.

The second demolition contract will address in-water and land-based elements. The exact means of demolition are still being examined, and RIDOT is considering using controlled explosive demolition, as it did for a portion of the former railroad trestle adjacent to the old bridge. RIDOT intends to begin work on the second contract as soon as possible after the completion of the first contract.