(Updated, 4:40 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE — A pedestrian bridge crossing the Providence River, connecting the cleared land in the Interstate 195 redevelopment district, will be elevated another foot in height to accommodate rising sea levels, according to the district’s executive director.
As a result of plan revisions, the original construction schedule has been delayed to an early spring 2016 start date, according to Jan Brodie, executive director of the I-195 district commission.
Whether the project will maintain its funding is an unanswered question. The pedestrian bridge is a project of the state Department of Transportation. In a statement Tuesday, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. said the project is being re-evaluated, given the availability of funds. “RIDOT must take into consideration many needs for Rhode Island’s deficient bridges and deteriorated highways,” he said. “With reliable, predictable funding provided through the RhodeWorks program, RIDOT would be in a better position to schedule and fund projects such as the pedestrian bridge.”
The RhodeWorks program, which would collect truck tolls in Rhode Island to support transportation and bridge improvements, did not make it into the fiscal 2016 budget approved this week by the R.I. House of Representatives, but a modified plan is scheduled to be discussed Thursday by the state Senate Finance Committee.
According to Alviti, the change in bridge design would add about $130,000 to the project for design services, but not appreciably change construction costs. In September, the state DOT estimated the project would cost $6 million.
Originally, bridge construction had been expected to begin this year. The project is expected to take 18 months.
According to Brodie, the bridge project is not affected by the Pawtucket Red Sox application to relocate to the landing site on the downtown side of the river.
The span will use the original footings used by the interstate highway, which remain visible in the river. It will connect Parcel 2, a planned park on the east side of the river, to Parcel 4, the site on the west side of the river eyed by the PawSox for a new downtown ballpark.
The bridge had been at 90 percent design completion when the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council requested the height adjustment, according to Brodie, who updated I-195 commission members on the plan this week. Development of the east side park is expected to begin in 2017. The west side park will move forward when plans are finalized, she said.
“Regardless of what happens with [Parcel 4], the bridge and the parks will continue,” she said.
