NORTH SMITHFIELD – On Friday night, July 30, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation will remove the lane split on Route 146 South at the Farnum Pike Bridge – Exit 11 – which carries Route 146 over Route 104 in North Smithfield. Traffic will be shifted onto a newly built southbound bridge. During this operation, travel lanes will be reduced from two to one lanes with both reopening by 6 a.m. Saturday, July 31.
With the removal of the lane split, the Route 146 South on-ramp from Route 104 will be reopened. The detour for oversized trucks will no longer be necessary, according to the release.
RIDOT will demolish a temporary bridge used during construction, finish the installation of drainage systems in the median, and complete other tasks over the next several weeks. In late August/early September the Department will restripe the road again, restoring the full width of the travel lanes and shoulders. RIDOT also will repave Route 104 under the bridge.
The bridge was replaced as part of a $13.9 million design-build project, which allowed the department to accelerate the work. The project’s official completion date is summer 2022, but final completion is trending several months sooner.
The Farnum Pike Bridge was built in 1958 and carries approximately 40,000 vehicles per day. It had been rated structurally deficient for more than 20 years.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
