Delays expected for I-195 and East Shore Expressway
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is reminding motorists that this weekend it will start bridge demolition work on the structurally deficient Horton Farm Bridge. This will require closing one travel lane in both directions on I-195, close to the Massachusetts border, for the entire weekend.
Starting at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, June 8, RIDOT will implement a temporary traffic pattern using crossover lanes. This keeps two-way Interstate traffic flowing while workers demolish one portion of the bridge. Through the weekend, the traffic pattern will shift between the eastbound and westbound sides of the bridge, with at least two lanes open in each direction during the daytime and evening hours and one lane in each direction during overnight hours, from midnight to 6 a.m. All lanes are scheduled to reopen by 6 a.m. on Monday, June 11. Traffic delays are likely.
The Horton Farm Bridge carries traffic from the East Shore Expressway to I-195 West. Effective tonight, Thursday, June 7 at 10 p.m., RIDOT will close the right lane of the East Shore Expressway, starting before the bridge. Currently the two lanes on the East Shore Expressway merge after the bridge, just prior to its connection with I-195. This closure will be in place until the end of 2018.
Tonight, the on-ramp from Warren Avenue to I-195 West (across from the Rumford Pet Center) will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. While the bridge is under construction, that ramp may be closed periodically during evening hours, but otherwise will remain open. Motorists using it will have to come to a full stop before merging with East Shore Expressway traffic. Alternatively, motorists may use the nearby on-ramp on Pawtucket Avenue. This traffic pattern will be in place until the end of 2018.
Although is it only 34 years old, the Horton Farm Bridge has severe concrete and steel deterioration. RIDOT will replace the entire superstructure of the bridge at a cost of $16.6 million. RIDOT's asset management approach to bridge maintenance ensures that this kind of neglect will not occur again.
Another weekend of lane closures will be needed next spring. Both lanes on the bridge itself will reopen during the winter months before RIDOT begins work on the other half of the bridge in 2019.
The Horton Farm Bridge Replacement Project is made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT's ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island's transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.