Get Ready, East Side and Fox Point, The Washington Bridge Demo Is About to Hit

Get Ready, East Side and Fox Point, The Washington Bridge Demo Is About to Hit

The East Side and Fox Point neighborhoods of Providence are about to get hit with the latest traffic disruption due to RIDOT’s Washington Bridge failure.

If you thought driving 20 minutes to get 10 to 15 blocks at certain times of day was chaotic, driving on the East Side is about to get more brutal.

Starting Sunday night, September 8, RIDOT will begin bridge deck and beam demolition of the old Washington Bridge, necessitating overnight closures of Gano Street in Providence, where it passes under I-195.

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The demolition also will begin next week on the eastern side of the bridge.

 

9 Hours of Closures - Sunday Thur Thursday

The closures at Gano Street are scheduled to take place Sunday-Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and last approximately two to three weeks.

During the closures, RIDOT will perform overhead demolition of bridge parapets and the concrete deck.

And RIDOT claims that at a future date later in late September/early October, RIDOT will conduct a weekend-long closure of Gano Street for beam removal.

That closure will be announced in advance when scheduled.

When Gano Street is closed, drivers will follow a signed detour using India Street, Wickenden Street and South Main and South Water streets. The on-ramp to I-195 West at Gano Street will remain open.

For residents and businesses in the Fox Point area, RIDOT has not given any information on the noise impacts on the neighborhood.

In addition to the demolition on the Gano Street, demolition work at the eastern end of the bridge (East Providence side) will begin next week. No traffic impacts are expected at the eastern end next week, however a one-week closure of Waterfront Drive will be scheduled in mid to late September and announced ahead of time.

RIDOT noted in their press release that " all construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.”

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: As GoLocal has chronicled, many of RIDOT's claims about the Washington Bridge during the past ten months have proven to be false.

See the stories below.