Rhode Island DOT starts second 80-hour bridge replacement this month with McCormick Quarry Bridge

Updated Sep 28, 2016
RIDOT crews have begun an 80-hour replacement of the McCormick Quarry bridge. It is the department’s second 80-hour bridge replacement this month.RIDOT crews have begun an 80-hour replacement of the McCormick Quarry bridge. It is the department’s second 80-hour bridge replacement this month.

For the second time this month, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will be replacing a bridge in East Providence within 80 hours. The agency will begin the replacement of the McCormick Quarry Bridge starting tonight at 9 p.m.

RIDOT says the bridge, built in 1959, has been structurally deficient for more than 20 years and carries 17,000 vehicles each day from Route 114 to I-195 West.

The agency first replaced the East Shore Expressway Bridge September 9-13 using superstructure components built in temporary staging areas on supports next to the old bridge.

RIDOT says the 80-hour closure and replacement saves a year of construction time, which would be filled with delays and construction with only one lane open to traffic at a time.

“We’re pleased with the installation of the East Shore Expressway Bridge and the lessons learned through that 80-hour process will certainly aid us as we work on this second bridge,” RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. says. “This rapid bridge construction approach lets us complete the job of replacing these deficient and obsolete structures as quickly as possible with as little impact as possible to the traveling public.”

The agency says the project is part of a $16.7 million two-bridge project that is on budget and on schedule, with final completion in June 2017.

Progress of the bridge installation, with updates every 5 minutes and a live camera feed, is available at www.dot.ri.gov/expressway.