NEWPORT, R.I. — Monday traffic on the Pell Bridge between Jamestown and Newport is down to a single open lane each way, with the work running through the day and overnight before the lanes reopen early Tuesday.
The bridge authority set the lane work on its calendar for Oct. 26 through Oct. 27 in a notice issued last week. Crews take the right lane heading west starting at 7 a.m. Monday, then shut the left lane heading east about two hours later at 9 a.m. Both lanes are due back in service at 3 a.m. Tuesday, ahead of the morning commute.
Crews will be working beside open traffic for most of the day. The bridge authority is asking motorists to build in extra travel time, slow down and stay alert while passing through the work zone. Commuters between Jamestown and Newport, along with anyone heading on or off Aquidneck Island, should expect slower trips during the busy morning and evening hours.
More lane work is on the way. The authority expects another round of similar closures next week and will share exact dates and times when they are confirmed.
The authority, created by the General Assembly in 1954, runs four major crossings. Besides the Pell, it handles the Mount Hope span, the Jamestown Verrazzano and the Sakonnet River Bridge, plus the Route 138 connector through Jamestown. The Pell Bridge first carried cars on June 28, 1969, and the authority has operated it ever since. Most of the money that keeps those bridges maintained comes from Pell Bridge tolls, the biggest piece of the authority’s revenue.
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Filed under: Newport RI Traffic News
