CUMBERLAND – The Diamond Hill Road overpass at Route 295 is about to reopen.
Heidi Gudmundson, of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, confirmed Friday afternoon that starting tonight, Oct. 9, RIDOT will implement a lane shift on the bridge. When finished, two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction, she said.
Our original story from Sept. 21
If it seems that Diamond Hill bridge project is on accelerated pace, it’s because it’s true
CUMBERLAND – It’s not your imagination that the Diamond Hill Road Bridge overpass project spanning I-295 is getting done far more quickly than the Mendon Road Bridge project before it.
Lane closures on the bridge went into effect in July, and the bridge is on target for completion this fall, said Rhode Island Department of Transportation spokesperson Charles St. Martin Monday.
Motorists over the weekend, including on Sunday, noticed operators of large cranes lowering girders for the second half of the bridge into place, and the cranes were gone by Monday as other work proceeded.
The decking installation came shortly after the newly completed first side of the bridge reopened to traffic.
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Asked about the differences between this project and the Mendon Road overpass that lasted for more than two years, St. Martin said there are a number of factors.
RIDOT project managers and bridge engineers shared that they are using accelerated bridge construction methods for the Diamond Hill bridge, as the agency does increasingly often when they are able to, to limit impacts on local and interstate traffic. That effort includes the use of prefabricated bridge units, or PBUs, to quickly replace the bridge after demolition.
This bridge is part of a grouping that also the Douglas Pike overpass in Smithfield, said St. Martin, and that one was completed in similar fashion.
Each PBU of the new Diamond Hill bridge is composed of a concrete deck piece with two steel beams underneath, said St. Martin. The units are installed side by side to rapidly create a new bridge deck, saving considerable time compared to the conventional approach of forming and pouring a concrete bridge deck.
The decision to close half of the bridge, reducing traffic from four lanes to two and shifting them to one side of the bridge, is another form of accelerated bridge construction, said St. Martin.
“The reduction of travel lanes allows us to work on more of the bridge at a time while still keeping traffic moving on it,” he said. “The Mendon Road Bridge was build using conventional bridge construction methods.”
There are many factors we take into consideration when choosing to use conventional or accelerated bridge construction, he added.
“These include traffic volumes on the bridge, below the bridge, the topography of the land around the bridge, and configuration of existing utilities to be moved and maintained during construction.”
For Mendon Road, there is a significant fiber optic line under I-295 at the bridge that factored into the decision-making process, according to St. Martin. Also, the prime contractor, Cardi Corp., went out of business in 2023 and RIDOT had to get a second contractor on board to finish the project, which caused delay, he said.
The completion of this bridge, as well as finishing touches being put on the Newell Bridge further up Diamond Hill near Nate Whipple Highway, will mean the entirety of Diamond Hill Road in Cumberland will be fully replaced, including new water pipes, new roundabouts, new bridges, new drainage systems, and new pavement.
