The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced today that it has closed the on-ramp from Hummocks Avenue in Portsmouth to Route 24 North. The closure is necessary to allow construction to proceed on the new Sakonnet River Bridge. Specifically, RIDOT will be rehabilitating the Hummocks Avenue Bridge and building parts of the western approach to the new Sakonnet River Bridge, including earth work and drainage.
The ramp will be closed for approximately six months. Motorists may also encounter lane restrictions at the Hummocks Avenue Bridge with a single lane alternating traffic pattern.
Motorists will be directed to use Anthony Road to Boyd’s Lane, where they will find a ramp to Route 24 North. The length of the detour is less than two miles. Motorists heading to Route 24 North from a point south of the Cove Bridge in the Island Park neighborhood will find a shorter detour using Park Avenue to Boyd’s Lane. Motorists leaving the Common Fence Point neighborhood should use the primary detour via Anthony Road.
“We apologize to the residents of Island Park and Common Fence Point for this inconvenience and for this late notice. We are committed to providing advance notice of construction for the Sakonnet River Bridge project,” RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis said. “The Department is working aggressively to replace the Sakonnet River Bridge and this closure is needed to build the new alignment of Route 24 when it meets the new bridge.”
RIDOT posts weekly updates on its website (www.dot.ri.gov) about expected work in both Portsmouth in Tiverton related to the Sakonnet River Bridge project. This information is also posted online as part of RIDOT’s statewide traffic forecast at www.tmc.dot.ri.gov/traveladvisories.
Motorists who have questions about this project are urged to contact RIDOT’s Customer Service office weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 222-2450. Information, including photos of the bridge project, will be posted on RIDOT’s social networking sites on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Blogger. These sites can be accessed from RIDOT’s home page at www.dot.ri.gov.
Contact: Charles St. Martin 401-222-1362 x4007
