Section of old Sakonnet River Bridge finally lowered onto barge
Center span expected to make its way to Fall River Friday
PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Slowly but surely, the center section of the old Sakonnet River Bridge was finally lowered onto an assembly of barges on Thursday.
A representative from S&R …
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Section of old Sakonnet River Bridge finally lowered onto barge
Center span expected to make its way to Fall River Friday
PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Slowly but surely, the center section of the old Sakonnet River Bridge was finally lowered onto an assembly of barges on Thursday.
A representative from S&R Corporation of Lowell, Mass., the contractor for the job, said the huge center truss is expected to be shipped sometime Friday to Fall River, where it will be cut apart.
The center span was lowered down onto four columns on the barge assembly, each stacked with metal blocks. Lifts were used at the bottom of each column as workers removed the bottom block, as each column got progressively shorter as the truss was lowered.
The massive truss of the 62-year-old bridge was originally scheduled to be separated from the Portsmouth and Tiverton sides on April 6, then lowered onto a barge platform and floated up Mt. Hope Bay.
However, foul weather didn’t permit the job to start right away. Then on Monday, the contractor told the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT) that more stability was needed in the barge assembly first.
