Arguing that the last remaining stretch of the old Jamestown Bridge must be knocked down, two lawmakers have sponsored bills that would allow the state to finish the demolition that it started in 2006.

The demolition left a portion of the old bridge standing because the state is required by law to retain a span on the North Kingstown side for use as a fishing pier.

But Sen. James C. Sheehan and Rep. Kenneth Carter, both Democrats from North Kingstown, say the remaining stretch has been deemed unsafe by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Transportation, and needs to come down.

The problem is it can’t, they said, until the law is changed.

“It’s kind of a Catch-22,” Carter said. “As long as the law’s there you can’t touch the bridge because it says you have to build a fishing pier out of it.”

The issue has been simmering since 1987, when the General Assembly adopted the law that calls for the DOT to retain part of the old bridge for use as a fishing pier. The law also calls for the Department of Environmental Management to develop and maintain a park on state land next to the old bridge.

Fishing enthusiasts want a pier, but a group calling itself the North Kingstown Coastal Preservation Association opposes the idea and has argued that pieces from a pier could break loose during a severe storm and damage the adjacent Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge. The DOT has rejected that argument, saying a new pier would be a robust structure, relying on nationally accepted state and federal standards.

Carter and Sheehan said that regardless of whether people support or oppose a fishing pier, the old bridge has to go.

“I’ve been portrayed very negatively by the saltwater fishing community, which is unfortunate,” Sheehan said. “If they were to look at this objectively, they cannot get the new fishing pier unless the old one comes down.”

It remains to be seen whether the state would actually build a new pier.

Gail Mastrati, a DEM spokeswoman, said the agency “is committed to providing public access, whether it be from a fishing pier or from an established park location along the waterfront.”

But Frances Segerson, a DOT spokeswoman, said a preliminary estimate puts at $13 million the cost of demolishing the remaining stretch of old bridge and building a new pier. The agency is eager to comply with Corps of Engineers demands to demolish the remaining portion of the old bridge, at an estimated cost of $3.75 million, but she said no money has been allocated for either part of the project.

The bills sponsored by Sheehan and Carter are identical, though Carter said he filed his at the request of the DOT and Sheehan said he filed his at the request of the North Kingstown Town Council. Both would remove the language requiring the DOT to retain a portion of the old bridge and the language requiring the DEM to develop and maintain a park.

Carter’s bill is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday before the House Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources. Sheehan’s bill had a hearing on April 30 before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Agriculture and is being held for further study.

redgar@projo.com