Governor Raimondo calls for emergency replacement of 6/10 bridge

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

If emergency work on the 6/10 connector Sounds familiar, That’s because it is.

We’ve known That 7 of the 9 bridges on the interchange are “structurally deficient”.

In fact there was a $4.9 million repair project in the works.

But, a couple of weeks ago, RIDOT got a warning from the Federal Highway Administration that the repair they’d planned is not enough. Governor Gina Raimondo decided delay is no longer an option, calling for emergency replacement of the Huntington Avenue Bridge.

It was rated a 19 out of 100 on its sufficiency index. For perspective, bridges are up for replacement at a 50.

Inspectors found deterioration, fatigue cracking, and an obsolete design not strong enough for the loads it now carries.

Several supporting beams were reported to be in critical condition as early as 1991.

Although this is an urgent warning RIDOT Director Peter Alviti says the project is not slated to be finished for years. "It has us having the shovel in the ground next year…having the project completed in a little over 4 years."

The $400 million replacement project is funded by RhodeWorks.

Governor Raimondo said RIDOT will now begin inspecting the 7 structurally deficient bridges quarterly rather than annually.

The 6/10 connector carries about 100,000 vehicles every day.

© WLNE-TV 2016