Rhode Island State Police will continue 24/7 patrols of the four bridges owned by the Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority (RITBA) for another three years, according to an agreement reached between the two agencies in mid-June.
The memorandum of understanding calls for RITBA to pay the base salaries of two troopers through the end of June 2028 to assist with speed enforcement, potential vehicle collisions, and preventing deaths by suicide. Under the new contract, the authority will pay about $515,000 to the State Police, with payments scheduled on a quarterly basis over the three-year period.
A similar agreement was first reached by the RITBA and the State Police in 2021, though a copy was not immediately made available.
At the time, the Newport Daily News reported that a speed study by RITBA found 29% of drivers were traveling at least 15 miles per hour over the limit on the Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges. Then–State Police Superintendent Col. James Manni told RITBA’s board in October 2021 that “a gray cruiser is the biggest deterrent we have in the state right now,” according to the meeting minutes.
The amount is equivalent to the salaries of two “less senior” officers who will be assigned to posts covering the Pell, Mount Hope, Jamestown Verrazzano, and Sakonnet River bridges — along with Route 138 through Jamestown and the 10 smaller bridges associated with the state highway.
State Police will determine which troopers are assigned to patrol RITBA bridges, with day-to-day rotations likely. Only one trooper will be assigned to the bridges at a time per shift.
One trooper is scheduled to patrol the bridges from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the other works from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., said Lt. Col. Robert Creamer, the State Police deputy superintendent and chief of field operations.
In addition to 24-hour patrols, State Police enforce weight restrictions on the Mount Hope and Pell bridges at least bi-weekly. The Pell Bridge, which was constructed in 1969, has a weight limit of 80,000 pounds, but vehicles weighing up to 160,000 pounds can cross if they are given a permit.
No vehicles over 60,000 pounds are allowed to cross the Mount Hope Bridge, which was built in 1929.
Under the new contract, RITBA may provide office space for troopers if available. The closest State Police facility to the authority’s Jamestown office near the Pell Bridge is the Wickford Barracks in North Kingstown.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
