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March 4, 2008

Bridge opens between Dunk and convention Center

Journal archive photo / Bill Murphy
The new bridge between the Rhode Island Convention Center and the Dunkin' Donuts Center is now open.

PROVIDENCE - The bridge connecting the Dunkin' Donuts Center and the Rhode Island Convention Center has opened, giving pedestrians an indoor pathway from the arena all the way to the Westin Providence hotel and the Providence Place mall.

More than a shortcut for patrons, the bridge is designed to help the owners of the Dunk and convention center, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, bring more conventions to Providence, The Providence Journal has reported.

In the convention center's main exhibition hall, a speaker can address about 3,500 people at a time; in the Dunk, the audience can reach 14,000.

"It will help the buildings communicate," James P. McCarvill, the authority's executive director, said last summer. "It's really important. They can work very well together."

The Authority bought the Dunk from the City of Providence in 2005 for $28.5 million. The bridge is part of an $80.5-million renovation project at the Dunk.

Construction crews began building the $1.4-million, 96-foot-long box truss bridge last June. It connects the Dunk's new lobby with the third floor of the convention center, near the main exhibition hall.

"They're still doing finishing touches," convention center authority spokeswoman Kerrie L. Bennett said today. "But it seems to be going well."

The authority hopes to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 5 to mark the end of the renovation. That ceremony will be followed by public tours of the building the next day and concerts the following weekend.

For the latest Business news, see projo.com's Biz Blog.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin Gedan

Posted by Jack Perry  at 2:14 PM | Permalink

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