Bridge between N. Stonington, Westerly may be nearing repair

Traffic has had to detour around Boombridge Road span for 10 years

North Stonington — For 10 years now the bridge on Boombridge Road connecting Westerly and North Stonington has been closed to traffic, but town officials are optimistic that may finally change.

Last week after having discussions with Westerly officials regarding the bridge, First Selectman Mike Urgo expressed optimism that both towns will work toward securing the funding needed for the long-delayed reconstruction.

He added that design work for the bridge is nearly completed, and the hope is to put the project out to bid this fall with construction to begin next spring.

“This is kind of pathetic that it has taken this long, but all we can do now is do our best to see it through,” Urgo said of the project.

“I just think it is an important project for the town, for both towns, and really for the area as a whole,” Urgo added. “I’m looking forward to seeing it start... hopefully we’ll get it going in the next year.”

Urgo, though, ackowledged town officials have expressed similar hopefullness in years prior about the project getting off the ground.

After several of the bridge’s steel beams were discovered to be severely deteriorated, the Connecticut Department of Transportation closed the 120-foot-long bridge to traffic in July of 2008.

The closure of the bridge on Boombridge Road, also called Boom Bridge Road, forces residents to make at least a six-mile detour to get to the other side.

“Although it is kind of a back road, it definitely has a lot of use,” Urgo said.

But despite the inconvenience it has caused, the repair project has never gotten off the ground — much to the disgust of residents.

The complicated level of state and local permitting as well as how the final cost of the project would be shared has contributed to the delay.

Originally, North Stonington took the lead on what was intended to be a superstructure replacement project enlisting TransSystems in 2011 to handle the bridge’s design. However, in late 2012, citing the complexities of a bridge construction project between two states, the Connecticut DOT stepped in to assume oversight for the project, which then required additional environmental and other permits, as well as the involvement of Rhode Island’s transportation and environmental management departments.

But with the removal of Rhode Island’s White Rock Dam in August of 2015, the project needed to be redesigned to reflect the changing conditions. From there the project then got stuck in limbo, and as time passed, it also increased in cost.

Originally estimated as costing $2.8 million in 2013, the project’s cost is now estimated at nearly $3.2 million, of which each town would be responsible for 10 percent of — or $316,000 each - and each state’s department of transportation for 40 percent of — or $1.2 million each — according to the construction agreement between the Rhode Island DOT and Connecticut DOT.

However, Rhode Island DOT has only committed to contributing $600,000 for the project, leaving about a $664,000 shortfall in funds that would likely fall on Westerly to supply.