From a control not larger than a breadbox with a set of joysticks, a member of the crew from Barhart – a company that specializes in the moving of buildings and large structures –maneuvered a 500-ton span into place Sunday evening above Centerville Road in Warwick.

The self-propelled modular transporter, SPMT, with 256 tires nudged the span that makes up the northbound Interstate 95 bridge into place in less than 30 minutes.

Six spans in Warwick – four for the Centerville Road bridges and two for the Toll Gate bridge – are being replaced as part of the $4.7 billion RhodeWorks program to address 1,200 bridge and road projects.

Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. said Sunday the overall cost of the 10-year program, which is now in its fourth year, will top $6 billion given grants and additional federal funding the state has been able to obtain with the work of the Rhode Island congressional delegation.

The replacement Centerville and Toll Gate Road bridges were built over the last year on sites adjoining the road. Last Thursday after I-95 north was diverted into a center lane as well as a portion of the southbound lanes, the former bridges were demolished to make room for the new ones.

Originally, the work had been planned for three weekends, but because of a 40 percent reduction in traffic caused by the coronavirus, the project was compressed into eight days.

Alviti said the plan is to replicate the replacement of the bridges for southbound traffic toward the end of June. The overall cost of the project was placed at $25 million.

Alviti said the project should be fully completed including the removal of the temporary center lane on I-95 this year.

(Herald photos by John Howell)