BURRILLVILLE -- Bridges, sidewalks and pedestrian walkways are coming to town this summer as the road construction season heats up.
Construction is set to start Monday on Centennial Street in the village of Bridgeton, according to the public works department.
Preliminary work on the long-closed Tarkiln Road Bridge is under way, and the public works department expects to complete that bridge replacement project by early September, according to town engineer and director of public works Richard A. Bernardo.
The low bidder on the Bridgeton project, Cardi Corporation, will repair three bridges, build sidewalks all along one side of Centennial Street and add roadway curbing and drainage, Bernardo said. The contract with Cardi is for $842,153.63.
The biggest portion of that project is the replacement of the Clear River Bridge, which will be closed from July 7 to Aug. 26. Local access to properties will be maintained, but traffic will be detoured along Grove Street, North Road and Hill Street during the replacement, Bernardo said.
The other bridges Cardi will work on are the Mowry Brook Bridge and a small culvert just east of the Grove Street intersection, where Cardi will build a separate pedestrian bridge.
The town's bridge-replacement work cannot start before July 1 because of regulations by the state Department of Environmental Management, which has issued permits for the work. DEM prefers work near waterways to be done during the lowest water-flow period, which is July, August and September, Bernardo said.
The town decided to start the Clear River Bridge replacement after the July 4th weekend, Bernardo said. Toward the end of the project, the town had to consider the start of school on Aug. 27, Bernardo said.
"We have to be done with that road closure before school begins," he said. "So they're going to concentrate their efforts. ... If they have to, they'll add more crews to get it done in the timeframe."
The rest of the bridge, culvert and sidewalk project in Bridgeton is expected to be completed by February 2004, he said.
The sidewalk additions are part of the town's plan to make walking between the various villages easier for residents.
"This is just part of the plan to get Pascoag connected to Harrisville," Bernardo said.
The town closed the Tarkiln Road Bridge in December 2001 after a state inspection found that steel girders underneath it were so decayed that at some points there was nothing left of them.
The new bridge is a pre-cast structure and will be delivered in sections and assembled on site, Bernardo said.
The town hasn't heard residents clamoring for that bridge project to be completed, Bernardo said.
"It's been closed for so long, at this point, we're not hearing a lot about it," he said.
Reporter Kate Bramson can be reached by e-mail at kbramson@projo.com
