Walkers at Johnston War Memorial Park, will have to double back halfway through their lap around the pond, as a footbridge receives an overdue restoration.
JR Vinagro Corp., a Johnston construction company, has volunteered to help rebuild a small, but key footbridge, along the Fitness Walk path around the pond at Memorial Park, near Hartford Avenue.
“We will have to have foot traffic turn around, and double back,” said Christopher Correia, director of Johnston’s Recreational and Community Services.
The bridge is 26-feet long and just 6-feet wide, but bids on the project came in much higher than expected.
Correia said family owned and operated JR Vinagro Corp. stepped up to help the town out, offering workers and materials, covering the entire project.
“We had initially bid the project,” Correia said. “But out of an abundance of concern we opted to go further due to the condition of the steel underneath.”
JR Vinagro is one of the largest independently owned and operated demolition, recycling and crushing companies in New England, according to its website.
“It’s really showing its age,” Correia said, from atop the bridge, looking down to its rusty steel underbelly. “We’re hoping to have this done in the next couple months.”
The town originally planned to refurbish only the wood planking on the bridge, but after further inspection, and “out of an abundance of caution” decided to replace the entire structure.
“Plowing and salting on the road has accelerated the decline of this bridge,” Correia said, pointing out that the steel girders on the pond side have deteriorated far less than the portion adjacent to Hartford Avenue.
Correia hopes a new fence between the road and the bridge may help lessen salt damage in the future.
Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena praised Joseph Vinagro, owner of JR Vinagro Corp., for stepping up.
“Joseph Vinagro is a great corporate citizen here in Johnston,” Polisena said.
After construction starts, “there will be a little bit of an inconvenience” for park patrons, Polisena said.
“But for the overall safety process it will be a better bridge, a safer bridge,” he added. “I ask for the residents’ patience. And it won’t cost the taxpayers anything.”
Although the bridgework will cause mild inconvenience to the many residents who take fitness laps around the park’s pond, Polisena explained that the construction will contribute to the park’s brighter future.
“They will still be able to use the track, they’ll just have to go back the other way, and won’t be able to make a full circle,” Polisena said. “Is it still safe? Yes. But we want to ensure we get another 50 or 60 years out of it.”
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