DOT: Jamestown Bridge section to be removed

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation announced last week a $961,000 contract for Reagan Construction Corp. of Middletown to remove the trestle portion of the old Jamestown Bridge extending into Narragansett Bay from the North Kingstown shore.
The 1,600-foot span is all that remains of the 70-year-old bridge that was replaced by the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge in 1992.
According to a news release, among the first steps in the demolition process is the placement of buoys around the perimeter of the old bridge, creating a 200-foot area in which boating will be prohibited. After all buoys are installed, additional information about the no-boating area will be issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
DOT is reviewing final plans with the contractor prior to beginning demolition of the bridge. According to the release, the department does not have a firm date for this work to begin, but expects it to start in mid- to late-November. Once demolition begins, the work will take approximately three months.
DOT added that, unlike the demolition of the old Jamestown in 2006 which used controlled explosives, this phase of demolition will not involve any detonations. The bridge will be removed mechanically with cranes and other equipment from barges and/or the old bridge itself. &#8226