I do not think we’ve seen the last of the big storms.”

Charles Levesque, Town Council

PORTSMOUTH — The town hasn’t given up on the run-down Stone Bridge abutment just yet.

The Town Council on Feb. 12 voted 6-0 to approve a resolution requesting state legislation to “effectuate a complete and comprehensive restoration, reconstruction, and refurbishing of the Stone Bridge abutment in Portsmouth.”

Town officials have been mulling over what action to take on the abutment, which is owned by the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT), ever since a big chunk of the pier’s north face caved in following a storm in March 2019. The Stone Bridge, originally built in 1907, was the primary link between Portsmouth and Tiverton before the Sakonnet River Bridge opened in 1956.

It had been damaged by several storms over the years, including Hurricane Carol in 1954, which was effectively its death kneel. The pier was closed to pedestrians several years before the 2019 incident due to its sorry state.

The bridge’s remains on the Tiverton side look much better, as state, federal and private grants totaling $2.5 million helped repair damage to the abutment and create a waterfront park. The Town of Tiverton owned its abutment, however, which made financing the upgrades much easier.

After the partial collapse of the pier in 2019, RIDOT spent $850,000 on repairs and turned the north side into a riprap wall, but closed the abutment to the public for safety’s sake. Residents and local officials call it an eyesore, and Teddi’s Beach — also known as “Teddy’s” — is also in rough shape and a target of litterbugs.

In February 2023, the council approved a $150,000 purchase-and-sales agreement with RIDOT, but backed out nine months later because the state refused to grant local officials access to the property for an inspection preceding the closing date. 

The resolution approved Feb. 12 followed a Jan. 22 request by Abby Brown, who chairs the town’s Harbor Commission, that the council reach out to state representatives for help in revising the purchase of the abutment and beach.

Council member Charles Levesque agreed with Brown that the abutment needs to be fully repaired immediately since it helps protect surrounding shoreline property.

“I do not think we’ve seen the last of the big storms,” Levesque said at the Jan. 22 meeting.

Addresses beach, too

The resolution states the abutment “continues to be closed for public use, it remains in a state of serious disrepair and deterioration, is a terrible eyesore on the Park Avenue waterfront, and it poses a significant risk and hazard to navigation, properties on the north end of Portsmouth, and public safety.”

It goes on to say that the adjacent beach property “is not properly cleaned, maintained, or managed by the state for use as a public beach.”

Besides urging legislation to completely repair and restore the abutment, the resolution also asks state lawmakers “to actively pursue and utilize any and all federal, state or other funding that may be available for this purpose, for a possible future transfer of that property along with the adjacent Teddy’s Beach property to the Town of Portsmouth.”

Council President Kevin Aguiar recused himself from the vote because he’s employed by a company that often works with RIDOT.