Traffic Alert: Mount Hope Bridge to close for 5 days in August. What to know
"We appreciate the public's patience as we get this work done," said Lori Caron Silveira, executive director of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority said in a statement. "We know that everyone will welcome a smoother ride over the bridge and hope that the advance notice will help people make their plans to seek alternate routes for that weekend. We have been working closely with leaders and first responders in Bristol and Portsmouth and are ready to address challenges as they arise."
Here's a look at what to know about the closure.
The road surface will be milled and then an ultra-thin bonded overlay will be applied from curb to curb to make a smooth surface.
Weather permitting, the Mount Hope Bridge will be closed from Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. until Monday, Aug. 18, at 5 a.m. If there is severe weather, the project will be rescheduled for a weekend in September.
The bridge will be closed to all traffic. RITBA has been collaborating with Bristol and Portsmouth town leaders and first responders to ensure good communication about the timing and detours related to this work.
The new surface will last approximately five years. Redecking the entire bridge (which was last done in 1985) is part of RITBA's capital projects in the coming years.
For additional information, please visit www.ritba.org and follow on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Mount Hope Bridge closure planned in August for resurfacing project
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Heavy Rains And Flash Floods Hit Parts Of New York And New Jersey
Heavy rains triggered flash flood warnings, water rescue operations, road closures and flight delays across parts of New York and New Jersey on Monday night, as a slow-moving summer storm impacted the region. FILE PHOTO: Flooding inside subway stations caused temporary closures in the 1,2 and 3 train lines. Associated Press New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency on Monday night due to the 'flash flooding and high levels of rainfall in parts of the state,' and urged residents to stay indoors. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said her office was 'closely monitoring flash flooding in the Hudson Valley,' and warned of active flash flood warnings in New York City. The heavy rains severely disrupted public transportation services across the region, causing delays in bus and train services, while the New York Subway had to halt operations along the 1,2, and 3 lines to deal with flooding in stations. The rains also disrupted air travel across the region as FlightAware reported dozens of delays at Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. In its Monday evening update, the National Weather Service warned of 'widespread heavy rainfall with the potential for numerous instances of flash flooding along the I-95 corridor in the Mid-Atlantic.' This is a developing story.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Xcel Energy offering tips for Colorado customers to save money on summertime electric bills
As temperatures heat up in Colorado and stay in the 90s over the next couple of days, many residents will be escaping the hot weather outside and staying cool inside. Xcel Energy is offering tips for customers to save money on their summertime electric bills. There are several ways to do so, and the best way to keep your energy bill low is to be conservative when using your air conditioning and other appliances. Also, practice energy efficiency habits to stay cool. Andrew Holder, the Director of Community Relations and Local Government Affairs for Xcel Energy, said that includes running fans to circulate cool air throughout your home and running ceiling fans counterclockwise to circulate air from the bottom of the room to the top. "During the year, you can also improve some of your insulation so that you don't have any of that cool air escaping from your house. And then also, you can turn off unnecessary lighting and replace incandescent light bulbs with LEDs, which can use 75 to 80% less energy than traditional bulbs, and they generally last about 15 times longer," said Holder. Opening all doors inside your home can improve air circulation, and closing all drapes and blinds during the day will help keep your home cooler. A programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature could also help you save a few extra dollars. Additionally, set your thermostat a couple of degrees higher to use your home's cooling system most efficiently. "If you have a programmable thermostat, we recommend that you can raise the temperature in the house to about 78 degrees if you're away from the home. But we do want to stress that we want to make sure our customers stay safe and comfortable through the season, but if they do want to save a couple dollars, you could set that thermostat up to 78," said Holder. Changing your air conditioning filters can also reduce your energy consumption by 5% to 15%. Turning off lights and electronics when they're not in use and running appliances like washing machines, dryers and dishwashers during the nighttime also reduces strain on the electric grid. "We look at the energy usage as a bell curve, and we build our energy system to the highest usage point, which is generally the hottest day in July when everybody gets home from work and they're running their air conditioning. So, we're not anticipating any brownouts. But there are also several tricks that our customers can do to lower the energy usage here in the state, as we're seeing some hot weather months," said Holder. Xcel Energy also offers energy efficiency programs with money saving options, including rebates, home energy audits and deals on smart products.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
A Florida county leads the way with a high-tech 911 system that improves emergency response
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — When an emergency happens in Collier County, Florida, the 911 calls go to one of the most high-tech communications centers in the U.S., where callers can sent text and video from the scene to dispatchers. Moving to what's known as an NG911 — or Next Generation 911 — system is a journey Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Bob Finney, the county's director of communication, have been on for much of the past decade. It's a long way from Feb. 16, 1968, when Alabama's then-House Speaker Rankin Fite made the nation's very first 911 call in Haleyville, Alabama, on a bright red, rotary-style landline telephone. That ceremonial call came just 35 days after AT&T announced plans to use 911 as a nationwide emergency number. Today, most calls to 911 originate with cellphones, with dispatchers in upgraded centers using geo tracking to get accurate geographic locations from callers. But the response time in an emergency depends on the type of technology being used at any of the 6,000 emergency communications centers in the U.S. that receive 911 calls. There is no uniform emergency system in the U.S., so individual cities, counties, states or geographic regions are responsible for operating their own 911 call centers. While some states have fully updated to NG911 systems, others are still using legacy 911 systems that rely on antiquated equipment. 'We're just reminded in these last two weeks, with the flooding in Texas, just how important the work of 911 is,' said Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS, which provides infrastructure that passes critical data to emergency centers across the United States. The future is now for 911 The Collier County Sheriff's Office covers 911 calls from an area of about 2,030 square miles (5,258 square kilometers) that stretches from sandy beaches at the southernmost tip of the Gulf Coast on Florida's peninsula inland to the Everglades. It's a region that has been ravaged by hurricanes this century, including Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricanes Ian and Milton most recently. That's why Sheriff Rambosk wanted a high-tech emergency operations center. 'We just believe that when we can reduce the response time using technology, it will improve safety and survivability of those calling in,' said Rambosk, who has been sheriff since 2009. 'And that's really what we're all about, keeping people safe and rescuing them when they need it.' Today 61 full-time employees and three part-timers staff two emergency operations centers around the clock. They rely on data that RapidSOS collects from connected buildings, devices, vehicles and even smart watches to send first responders to emergency scenes. The baseline data is provide free of charge to all 911 centers, Martin said. Mixing technology with emergency response As Hurricane Helene was tracking toward north Florida last September, forecasters were predicting it could hit Tallahassee as a major Category 3 storm. Officials in Leon County, which serves the state's Capitol and nearby counties on legacy 911 equipment, reached out to Collier County, some 430 miles (692 kilometers) to the southeast, to see if they could take over emergency calls if the storm knocked their center out. Helene moved to the east of Tallahassee, but Collier County was prepared to help if needed. "Because of the partnership with Rapid SOS, they were able to create a map to where not only did we see our own calls, but we could see exactly where the calls were coming in Tallahassee,' Finney said. Collier County has also partnered with Charleston, South Carolina, as a backup 911 center. Each region is fully prepared to take on 911 calls for the other in case their emergency system goes down for any reason. It's a similar story in North Carolina, where legislation in 2017 helped establish funding for a next generation 911 system, said Pokey Harris, who serves as president of the National Association of State 911 Administrators and executive director of the North Carolina 911 Board. Harris said Hurricane Helene provided validation for the upgraded system by being able to direct 911 calls from areas that were devastated by the storm to other parts of North Carolina that were not affected. 'During Helene, if a citizen could reach a dial tone, even though their local 911 center may have been impacted because of infrastructure devastation, another center somewhere in the state could answer their call,' Harris said. No federal funding for next-generation systems Next Generation 911 systems aren't cheap. 'There has been no federal funding for 911,' Martin, of RapidSOS said. 'It has been in various draft formats as long as I've been doing this and it's never gotten through Congress.' There is also no federal oversight of 911, he said. 'It's really quite remarkable how well 911 works despite those challenges," Martin said. 'I think it's a testament to the people of 911, not the technology.' Freida Frisaro, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
