Community Corner

Reservoir Ave. Bridge to Open by Year End

Driving along Reservoir Avenue over the Pocasset Bridge is an exercise in frustration, mainly because some people don't like — or don't know how — to merge into one lane. 

But Cranston drivers will get some relief — and two more lanes — by the end of the year, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The bridge, which is in the midst of reconstruction work, should be open by the end of the year and crews are currently working on the steel structure of the southbound lanes and concrete should be poured this week.

Following a 14-day curing period, work will begin on the bridge approaches followed by the sidewalks and curbing, including the installation of the railing and landscaping.

"Additional work will take place on the bridge through next spring," said Rosamaria Amoros, spokeswoman for the state DOT.

But the major inconvenience to drivers is the reduction of lanes. This busy stretch of Reservoir Avenue has been down to two lanes from four, which means cars must merge into one lane in both north and southbound directions to get over the bridge. This has caused slowdowns, especially since many people fail to realize the one of the lanes is about to disappear or, in the case of the southbound lanes, the leftmost lane becomes a left-turn-only lane onto Aqueduct Avenue. But not everyone plays by the rules and the spot is often a friction point as drivers hoping to skirt the line veer over and cut off drivers queuing up in the right lane.

It also also made nearby businesses endure shifting rows of traffic cones and potentially lost business since the area has been a construction zone with traffic cones for months.

Meanwhile, area drivers are enjoying fresh pavement on the Park Avenue Bridge, which carries Park Avenue over the railroad tracks. Amoros said that bridge still needs sidewalk replacement and repair and that work will be advertised for bid by the springtime with work to begin in the summer.

"Because this bridge crosses over electrified Amtrak lines and Providence and Worcester freight rail tracks, we will have to review the design and reach agreements with the railroads before we can complete our plans and specifications," Amoros said. "These repairs, combined with the repaving that took place last week, will help extend the service life of this bridge."


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