Sakonnet River Bridge

Sakonnet River Bridge
The new Sakonnet River Bridge alongside the remaining pillars of the old bridge.
Coordinates	41°38′17″N 71°12′50″W / 41.6381°N 71.2140°W / 41.6381; -71.2140 (Sakonnet River Bridge)
Carries	Route 24 / Route 138
Crosses	Sakonnet River
Locale	between Portsmouth and Tiverton
Characteristics
Design	truss bridge (1st) Box girder bridge (2nd)
History
Opened	1956 (1st bridge), 2012 (2nd bridge)
Closed	2012 (1st bridge)
Location

Sakonnet River Bridge is a four-lane bridge spanning the Sakonnet River in eastern Rhode Island. The bridge carries RI 24 and RI 138 between the communities of Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island. The current bridge is a box girder bridge that opened in 2012 at a cost of $120 million (USD). The previous bridge was a truss bridge that was built in 1956 and demolished in 2012 due to structural deficiencies. The truss bridge had previously served as a replacement for the Stone Bridge, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the south.

It became part of RI 24 during the 1960s after the completion of the Portsmouth and Tiverton Expressways. At one point, it was briefly considered for inclusion as part of the never-built Interstate 895. In October 2023, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced plans to remove the rest of the bridge, and have scheduled the project for 2026. The department started demolishing the bridge superstructure in 2018.^[1]