WESTERLY – Town Manager Joseph Turo and R.I. Senate Minority Leader Dennis Algiere today joined U.S. Sen. Jack Reed in announcing $1.6 million in federal funding to help repair the historic West Street Bridge.
The federal aid will supplement town and state funds already allotted to the Westerly project. It is part of the $1.01 billion allotted for Rhode Island projects – including $325 million for local bridge repair and rehabilitation – in the five-year Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users.
“I am pleased to have secured $1.6 million in the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act to repair Westerly’s historic West Street bridge,” said Reed, who requested the aid in a letter last spring and voted for the SAFETEA-LU measure when it came before the Senate this month. He is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Banking Committee’s subcommittee on transportation.
“For generations, this bridge has served as an important link to and from Westerly’s North End and downtown area,” he noted. “This federal funding will restore the bridge, improving the safety for motorists and train traffic along the Northeast Corridor.”
The 75-year-old bridge, across the Amtrak rail line, has been designated a historic structure by the R.I. Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.
Structural problems have forced its closure to vehicle traffic since 1999, and to foot traffic since 2003. But the move was so unpopular that earlier this year, local residents submitted a petition – bearing thousands of signatures – that asked town officials to reopen the span to pedestrians.
“These funds will complement the state funds that have been earmarked for the repair of the bridge, which has been a safety concern for a number of years,” said Algiere, who represents the town in the General Assembly.
Turo, the town manager, noted that infrastructure maintenance and improvements have been a priority for his administration.
“The people of Westerly endorsed this priority by approving a $5 million bond for road and drainage improvements during the last election,” he said in a statement today. “Therefore, I could not be more pleased with the efforts of Senator Reed to forward improvements to the West Street Bridge during these challenging economic times.”
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Additional information about the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users and the subsequent SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008, is available at www.OpenCongress.org.
Information about the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission – the state office for historic preservation – is available at www.preservation.ri.gov.
