Bridges
There are a couple of a major bridges in Rhode Island.
Newport Bridge
The official name for this bridge is the Claiborne Pell Bridge, but the name is never used. This Suspension Bridge was built in 1969 and it replaced a ferry. It was another piece of the I-895 plan that was scrapped. It carries four lanes of traffic from Newport to Jamestown. It carries SR 138 over the Bay. It is the longest bridge in New England and can be seen from any part of the bay. It is the largest suspension bridge in all of New England and it has a toll of $2.00 going from Jamestown to Newport. The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority also has a link for the Newport Bridge.
Mount Hope Bridge
This Suspension bridge was built in 1929, to replace the ferry between Bristol and Portsmouth. It was the first real suspension bridge in the state. It carries 2 lanes of traffic and until 1998 it had a small toll. It is the strongest bridge in the state surviving 70 winters, and 3 Hurricanes. It carries SR 114 over the small area of water between Mt. Hope Bay and the Narragansett Bay. It had a big controversy about whether to tear down the useless toll booths. They were eventually torn down and the now free bridge is used more often. The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority also has a link for the Mt. Hope Bridge.
Jamestown Bridge
Actually the Jamestown Bridge was the name of the old bridge, the new bridge is "officially" called the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge. The new bridge was built in 1990. The old one was built in 1940 and for a while was a toll bridge. It also carries SR 138 and it goes from North Kingston to Jamestown. The old one was only two lanes and couldn't handle the traffic so once the new bridge was built the old one was abandoned and the old one is used for a fishing pier. In December the RIDOT announced that they will now officially tear down the old bridge by 2003.
Sakonnet River Bridge
This bridge was built in 1956 to replace the Old Stone Bridge connecting Portsmouth and Tiverton. It carries SR 24 over the Sakonnet River. It is heavily used, carrying more traffic than the Mount Hope and Newport Bridges combined. In the 1970s it was to be part of I-895 a highway that was streamline traffic through Aquidneck Island. It probably would have been needed to be upgraded to become an interstate highway. It would have been needed to have been widened. Recently there has been a debate on whether to construct a new bridge or to fix the old one. The construction site for the bridge is here.
Henderson Bridge
Also known as the "New Red Bridge." The bridge is really part of what was going to be a detour to the Washington Bridge. It was completed in 1969 to replace the old Red Bridge. It crosses the Seekonk River a few miles north of the Washington Bridge. It runs from Angell St. in Providence to Broadway St. in East Providence. It stops abruptly at Broadway St. since it was originally planned to extend to Pawtucket Ave. in East Providence. It was originally supposed to run to I-195 in Providence parallel to Gano St., but that was also killed. It is in poor condition, and it is hardly used at all. It was recently closed for some repairs.
Washington Bridge
It is actually two bridges. The first one was built in 1929 across the Seekonk River. When I-195 was built, a second bridge was needed to handle Westbound traffic. The second one was completed in 1971 to help handle the traffic load. It fell into disrepair after sporadic repairs and went through a major overhaul project that was completed in 1998.
All the Others....
Other bridges are, the Providence River Bridge over the Providence River that carries I-195. It is crumbling and will soon be replaced. Also the Point St. Bridge crosses the Providence River, just in front of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. It was recently fixed. Over the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, I-95 has a small bridge. There are also a few small bridges in Barrington and Warren that carry SR 114 and SR 103.