Pare has been providing consulting engineering services to the Providence & Worcester (now the Genesee & Wyoming) Railroad Company since 1974.  As part of these ongoing services, Pare designed replacement structures for Bridge No. 35.29 in Sutton, MA. 

Originally constructed in 1903 to carry the rail line over the Blackstone River, the 100-foot, two-span through-girder bridge was supported on 20-foot high granite block abutments and a center stone pier.  Additional timber piers were added to the center pier in the 1950's following storm surge damage from a hurricane.  However, the bridge had load carrying deficiencies and the added timber piers created maintenance issues.

The replacement structure is a single-span through-plate girder supported on modified stone abutments.  The abutment foundations, because of their height and slenderness, required reinforcing with sheet pile-lagged retaining walls placed behind the existing structures to limit the loads from the Cooper E 80 design loads.  The new single-span structure eliminated the maintenance issues of the center pier; however, the pier was left in place to reduce demolition costs and environmental impacts.  Pare designed the replacement structure to allow for accelerated bridge construction that limited track closure to a single 4-day outage. 

This video, captured by aerial drone, shows a train with ethanol tankers crossing the completed bridge in November of 2016.

The Pare Project Team looks forward to assisting the Westerly Bike Path Committee look at ways of making a long-discussed vision for a multi-use bike path in the Misquamicut Beach area into a reality for the community. The study will focus on shared-use paths along Shore Road, Winnapaug Road, Weekapaug Road and Atlantic Avenue, with each potential route to be conceptually designed inclusive of alignment, crossings/traffic control, amenities, permitting considerations, and cost estimates, to help the town identify the most feasible route. Pare will also prepare GIS-based mapping of the route segments and hold a series of community forums to garner input on the suggested routes. You can read more about the recently approved feasibility study and the vision of the committee by clicking here or going to http://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/westerly/10972517-154/planning-for-westerly-bike-path-to-advance-with-consultants-feasibility.html