page_title: Jamestown Bridge
section_title: Demolition
hierarchical_section_title: Jamestown Bridge / Demolition
caption_attribution_description: English: Approximate location of the Jamestown Bridge
context_page_description: The Jamestown Bridge, was a cantilever truss bridge that connected Conanicut Island to mainland North Kingstown, Rhode Island, spanning the West passage of Narragansett Bay. The bridge first opened to traffic in 1940, replacing ferry service as the primary connection for the town of Jamestown, situated on Conanicut Island. It was constructed for just over $3 million 1940 USD, which was paid for by tolls until June 28, 1969. With a total length of 6,892 feet, the Jamestown Bridge was the third longest in Rhode Island at the time of its destruction, ranking behind its replacement, the adjacent 7,350-foot Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and the 11,248-foot Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge connecting Conanicut Island to Aquidneck Island and Newport. The Jamestown Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic on October 8, 1992, and its main span was destroyed through a controlled demolition on April 18, 2006.
context_section_description: The United States Coast Guard had long declared the Jamestown Bridge to be a navigation hazard and requested that the state of Rhode Island dismantle the eastern two thirds of it.  The Sierra Club, an environmental organization, suggested to instead turn the bridge into a bike route and walkway. However, the aging structure proved to be in far worse condition than previously thought, prompting officials to go ahead with removing the entire structure.
  On April 18, 2006, the main span of the Jamestown Bridge was brought down by 75 pounds of RDX explosives and 350 shaped charges. TNT charges were later used to remove the concrete piers. On May 18, 2006, crews imploded the trusses that once carried the side spans. Throughout mid-2006, workers removed the remaining support piers and low-level approach spans west of the main channel. The extreme western portion of the bridge was not demolished with the remains of the bridge during 2006, as officials planned to renovate and convert it into a fishing pier, but ultimately it was removed in 2010 when renovation and cleanup proved too costly. That last part was then demolished in the same year. The total cost for removal of the Jamestown Bridge was US$22 million.  The demolished steel superstructure was floated away for recycling, while concrete from the bridge piers was used to create artificial reefs below the mouth of Narragansett Bay.
caption: Approximate location
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