Gov. Chafee, DOT announce R.I. bridge preservation project

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and the R.I. Department of Transportation this month announced the first contract in a new bridge-preservation program that aims to improve maintenance in the Interstate 95 corridor from Warwick to Providence.
According to a news release, the program will repair the steel and concrete deteriorations that shorten the life of bridges and lead to more expensive and disruptive rehabilitation or replacement projects.
The first contract for $4.9 million, currently under way, was awarded to Cardi Corp. and covers 13 bridges in the I-95 corridor in Warwick from the Route 4 interchange to the bridge carrying I-95 over the Pawtuxet River between Exit 15 (Jefferson Boulevard) and Exit 16 (Route 10). This work is scheduled to be finished by fall 2013.
Combined with additional contracts in the next four years, DOT intends to address 30 bridges, from Route 4 to the area of the Iway (I-195 Relocation Project) near Exit 19 in Providence. Once this section of I-95 is finished, DOT will expand the program to other highway corridors.
The program includes bridge washing, replacement of deck joints, concrete patching and sealing and steel repair as needed. DOT is also including bridge painting in the program.
According to the news release, more than 150 bridges – about one out of every five bridges in Rhode Island – are considered “structurally deficient” and in need of rehabilitation. •

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