New 'White Church' Bridge Could be Open by Early 2014

Barrington could see a new Massasoit Avenue bridge in less than three years.

David Fish, managing engineer for bridge engineering for the state transportation department (RIDOT), shared that estimate with about 60 residents, legislators and town officials Monday evening in the library auditorium.

“I feel a lot more confident with this design,” Fish said, referring to the almost 12-year completion of the Barrington Bridge. It should prevent delays and cost overruns.

Fish made a 20-minute presentation on the bridge project and then answered questions for another hour or so. He touched on many of the same details he shared previously with the Town Council.

The bridge will be the same length, about 324 feet, but it will be built with a third lane, making it 21 feet wider, he said.

Like the current bridge, it will be constructed of precast concrete with black iron railings. 

Traffic will continue to use the bridge during construction, except during aspects of construction that will make that impossible, such as when crews are using explosives. 

“The contractor must assure a steady flow of traffic” based on conditions that will be part of the contract, he said.

 The number of piers will be reduced from nine to five to allow for more space for boats traveling under the bridge between the river and Hundred Acre Cove.

Decorative lighting is being considered, a recent change, he said.

Most of the staging will be on barges anchored in the river next to the bridge. But the “contractor can negotiate with private property owners for more staging,” he said.

The design life of the new three-lane bridge is 75 years, Fish said, with an estimated use of 100 years.

Because the bridge opening remains the same length, there will be no change to the inflow and outflow of water, a concern of property owners who live in that area.

Historic areas in the bridge vicinity, such as the Barrington Congregational Church just south of the bridge, will be protected as is necessary, he said.

Fish was reminded of the historic area in which it will be built by noted preservationist Bonnie Warren, who passed out a pamphlet about Barrington Village, which is connected by the bridge.

There will be financial penalties for missing the completion date, although there are no incentives for completing the project earlier, Fish said.

The intersection with County Road will not change, Fish said, and the bridge project will run from that intersection to Woodward Avenue in Hampden Meadows on the east side of the bridge.

The bridge will be built in five phases:

• Phase I: Demolish the north sidewalk and remove and dispose of portions of the existing bridge.
• Phase II: Construct the north portion with traffic remaining on the existing bridge.
• Phase III: Shift traffic to the north portion of the new bridge and demolish the existing bridge.
• Phase IV: Construct the south portion of the new bridge with traffic using the north side.
• Phase V: Restripe the bridge for its final proposed condition.

The one aspect of the bridge that was criticized was its height above the water. It is being designed with 10 more inches of clearance, but not the 26 inches asked for by Harbormaster Raymond Sousa.

Fish was asked to consider raising the bridge another 12 inches to alleviate concerns about lack of accessibility to Hundred Acre Cove by rescue boats during a very high tide or excessive rainfall.

Town Council Vice President Jeff Brenner said "this project began more than six years ago when the council got a letter saying that the state simply was going to tear down the bridge and replace it with a new one."

There didn't appear to be any consideration of the impact on the town without that bridge for traffic, he said, which would have cut the town in half. It was a lawsuit in the making.

"But RIDOT has been very responsive," Brenner said, "and the state is making the bridge much better."

See the video for a look at the bridge presentation.