Cranston Mayor Hopkins announces bridge and culvert inspections – not done in decades

Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins has announced that Cranston is undertaking planned inspections and evaluations of Cranston’s bridges and culverts as part of his administration’s watchdog responsibility of the city infrastructure.

Hopkins stated that engineering firm Pare Corporation (“Pare”) of Lincoln, Rhode Island is being retained for the comprehensive investigation on the conditions of the structures and to later offer any repair or rehabilitation recommendations. 

“Last Spring, I proposed that we allocate funds in the capital budget to undertake this important work to assess the integrity of our bridges and culverts in the interest of public safety,” said Hopkins. 

He noted that these types of systematic infrastructure evaluations have not been conducted in decades.

“Pare Corporation will bring their expertise to this project, so we know exactly where we stand for long term planning and remedial action, if necessary,” Hopkins said.

The Mayor stated that seven city owned bridges, and seven culverts will be analyzed.

“The public should be assured that we have no immediate concern for any of the structures to be reviewed,” he said.

“This scope of work was outlined months ago and has no connection to the timing of the closure issues the state is facing with the Washington Bridge,” Hopkins said. “We want to be proactive in being ahead of serious problems. As Chief Executive, my priority is always the safety of our residents and families. We will be vigilant in our duties as guardians of our city’s assets.”

He emphasized that a pothole is a routine road problem and can be quickly fixed, saying “a bridge or culvert failure is a significant public challenge and brings inherent danger and real inconvenience if they fail.” 

Bridges:

1. Gansett Avenue over Washington Secondary Bike Path
2. Dean Parkway over Washington Secondary Bike Path
3. Phenix Avenue over Furnace Hill Brook
4. Garden City Drive over Pocasset River
5. Haven Avenue over Pocasset River
6. Main Street over Clark Brook
7. Kimberly Lane over Furnace Hill Brook

Culverts:

1. Natick Avenue over an unknown tributary to Meshanticut Brook  
2. Natick Avenue at Furnace Hill Brook
3. Furnace Hill Road at Furnace Hill Brook 
4. Phenix Avenue over unknown tributary to Meshanticut Brook 
5. Beechwood Drive over Furnace Hill Brook
6. Wilbur Avenue over Meshanticut Brook
7. Dyer Aver new #1315  

The Mayor explained that the proposed work will be done in accordance with state and federal bridge inspection requirements.  

“After a detailed visual inspection of each structure and data collection, Pare officials will prepare summary reports with their findings,” Hopkins said.   

After the general condition assessments of the bridge and culvert inventory are complete, a program of infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation will be developed.

“At the end of this process we may have short term repairs needed like concrete patching, spot painting or joint repairs,” Hopkins said, adding “If more significant repairs are identified such as bridge joint replacement, railing upgrades or surface or decking replacement, we will develop a schedule for those improvements.”

Culverts generally are spans of twenty feet or less and have fill over them to establish the road, distinguished from bridges which span over twenty feet with a deck structure to create the road.  

The Pare Corporation engagement will cost $84,800 for the bridge investigations.  The culvert inspections and findings will cost $69,000.