PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti Jr. recently joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman David Cicilline, East Providence Mayor Roberto DaSilva and other state and local officials to celebrate the early completion of the Horton Farm Bridge in East Providence. The project to replace this structurally deficient bridge finished three months ahead of schedule.

The Horton Farm Bridge, which carries the East Shore Expressway to I-195 West in East Providence was not properly maintained. Although is it was only 34 years old, it had severe concrete and steel deterioration throughout.

RIDOT replaced the entire superstructure of the bridge at a cost of $16.6 million. RIDOT’s asset management approach to bridge maintenance ensures that this kind of neglect will not occur again.

“The completion of this project lets us check another structurally deficient bridge off the large list of bad bridges — a list which earned our state the reputation of having the worst bridges in the country,” Alviti said. “Thanks to the Governor’s RhodeWorks program, we are able to maintain this steady drum beat of bridge projects to lower the number of structurally deficient bridges in Rhode Island and bring us into compliance with federal minimum bridge deficiency standards by 2025.”

RIDOT was able to complete the replacement of the Horton Farm Bridge with minimal impact to traffic. Using a phased construction approach, the department was able to maintain traffic flow while working on half of the bridge, then switching the pattern and working on the other half.

The department also did two weekend closures for demolition of the old bridge, utilizing crossover lanes so at least two lanes of travel could flow in both directions on one side of the highway while demolition was underway on the other side. RIDOT also utilized overnight rolling roadblocks to place steel for the new bridge to avoid further closures or detours. These methods allowed RIDOT to shorten the duration of the project by about six months.

The project also included repaving both directions of I-195 from the Massachusetts border to the Broadway exit, as well as replacement of median barrier and street lighting in this area.

The Horton Farm Bridge Replacement Project was made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT's ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island's transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development and create jobs.