Reservoir Ave. Lanes to Close for Bridge Work

Come Wednesday, motorists using Reservoir Avenue will have to get used to two less lanes on a portion of the road.

The state Department of Transportation announced that two lanes of the busy state road will be closed until the fall of 2013 due to bridge repair work.

In a release, the DOT said the number of travel lanes will decrease from four to two because of the work being done on the Pocasset River Bridge, located between Garden City and Park Avenue.

The 86-year-old bridge was last rehabbed in 1950 and is considered structurally deficient. The $2.9 million project will replace the bridge deck and "make numerous other improvements to the structure," the DOT said in a release.

The work will be done in phases, with one lane open in each direction on Reservoir Avenue on the existing southbound lanes while RIDOT works on the part of the bridge that normally carries northbound traffic. In Spring 2013, the traffic pattern will shift with all traffic relocated to the newly reconstructed northbound lanes. At least one lane of travel will be maintained in each direction at all times, and access to local businesses near the bridge will be maintained.