Bridge closure will slow up Slatersville commuters
Detours around historic Stone Arch Bridge begin next week
NORTH SMITHFIELD – The state’s most historic masonry bridge is also one of northern Rhode Island’s hardest-working spans, and when the Slatersville Stone Arch Bridge closes next Monday motorists will immediately start feeling the pain.
A spaghetti loop of detours around the picturesque bridge that carries Route 5 over the Branch River will take motorists miles out of their way before they can get back on track.
“People in the area should expect a little extra travel time getting through the village,” says DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin. “But by closing the bridge, we’re actually shortening the overall amount of time it will take to complete the project.”
DOT has four recommended detours for the project – one each for north and southbound trucks and cars. St. Martin said DOT creates detour routes that are deemed suitable for all vehicles, which sometimes translates into the longest routes. But he said motorists who are familiar with the area might be able to figure out faster routes to reach their destinations through and around the village.
“We try not to detour large volumes of traffic down secondary roads,” he says.
Town Planner Tom Kravitz said “it’s nice that there’s a benefit that they’re preserving
the historical look of the bridge, but I guess it does come with an inconvenience.” But Kravitz says there may be an upside for folks who live in the plats and enclaves on the periphery of the bridge. With motorists avoiding the bridge, the atmosphere could be a bit more serene.
“They might like it for awhile,” said Kravitz. “I gotta imagine, right here at Town Hall, for example, it’s going to feel like, ‘Where is everybody?’ once this takes effect.”
This is actually the first of two complete closures of the bridge in a $13.5 million reconstruction that’s expected to last three years, finishing up in 2020, the state Department of Transportation announced. During the current phase of work, the bridge won’t reopen again until July. Then it will close again in March 2018 for another four months during a second phase of work.
Closing the bridge means repair crews can work faster and more efficiently. By closing the bridge twice during the term of the project, DOT “will shave a year off the project’s construction timeline,” according the St. Martin.
St. Martin said the bridge is used by about 8,000 motorists daily. Because the bridge was deemed structurally deficient in 2007, carrying a 20-ton weight limit, the state transportation agency had narrowed the bridge to a single-lane, alternating traffic pattern in 2013, causing traffic delays in Slatersville village.
RIDOT’s project will rehabilitate the structure so it no longer will be deficient nor carry a weight limit, St. Martin said.
A key component of the project involves the restoration and reinforcement of the existing stone arches, which support the 150-foot-long span. Because of the bridge’s historical value, DOT was required to rehabilitate rather than replace the bridge, which is located in the Slatersville Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village itself is in the process of becoming integrated into the federal Department of the Interior’s National Park System – one of five villages in two states within the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor that have been elevated to park status by Congress.
The combined effects of the accelerated construction schedule, historic preservation efforts and additional measures designed to satisfy environmental regulations helped lift the price tag for the makeover of the relatively small bridge to nearly $14 million, according to St. Martin.
The project also includes upgrades to portions of Main Street and Route 5 (Railroad Street/Providence Pike), including resurfacing and bringing all existing curbing, sidewalks and walkways into Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. New signs, striping and minor improvements to drainage systems and intersections are also part of the project.
During the next several months, DOT will install components to strengthen the bridges’ twin stone arches. A second closure to complete the construction of the bridge after the existing utilities have been relocated is planned for next spring and summer and will primarily involve daytime work.
Built in 1855, the Stone Arch Bridge was erected “at the urgent request” of William F. Slater, the owner of the sprawling textile mill immediately east of the mill for whom the village was named, according to an inventory of the state’s historic bridges compiled by DOT.
According to the inventory, each of the bridge’s arches is semicircular in shape and measure 40 feet at the diameter. The side walls, known as spandrels, rise above the level of the roadway to form low railings which are capped with granite slabs.
“The bridge stands as an excellent example of tradi- tional masonry construction, combining carefully cut stone work in the arch rings with irregularly shaped stone in the spandrels,” DOT explains. “The sidewalk on the west side was added in 1940.”
DOT’s recommended detours can be viewed on a map by logging onto www.ridot.net/detourmaps.