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September 17, 2007

DOT closing temporary Barrington span at night

BARRINGTON -- The state Department of Transportation is closing the temporary bridge over the Barrington River at night this week so the structure can be inspected.

The small span was built for traffic to cross the river during the long-delayed construction of the Barrington Bridge linking Barrington and Warren. It was closed Sunday and Monday nights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will be blocked off again tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday nights during the same hours.

Dana Nolfe, a spokeswoman for the DOT, said the bridge must be closed during the inspections because a device used to lower a person over its side will take up much of the roadway. Any maintenance or repairs to the structure will be carried out during the work this week. Nolfe said the bridge will be open at night again on Friday.

-- Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

All traffic, including the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s buses on Route 60 between Newport and Providence, will be detoured. Vehicles traveling north to the bridge will be diverted onto New Meadow Road and then turn left on Masasoit Avenue before turning back onto Route 114. Vehicles traveling south must turn left onto Masasoit Avenue, then right on New Meadow Road to reach Route 114.

The Barrington Bridge is slated to be finished in 2010, four years after the original completion date. It will cost more than $22 million, more than twice the contract price.

Nolfe said DOT Director Jerome F. Williams meets regularly to discuss the progress of the bridge project. “That is definitely moving ahead,” she said. “We’re working hard.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:01 PM | Permalink

September 17, 2007

DOT closing temporary Barrington span at night

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