Old Warwick Avenue could be a poster child for what’s happened to the state’s bridges, and the manner in which the state plans to deal with the problem.

The bridge over Buckeye Brook looks to be fine. It’s a narrow span, perhaps no more than 20 feet. In fact, if it weren’t for the guardrail, motorists unfamiliar with the area wouldn’t think it to be a bridge, as the brook is obscured by vegetation.

But more than a month ago, the state Department of Transportation narrowed bridge traffic to a single lane with the placement of Jersey barrier-like devices made of plastic and filled with water.

The barriers just appeared one day with no explanation. And it looks now that they could be there for a long time…maybe five years at the minimum.

When asked what the story was, Department of Public Works Director David Picozzi said he didn’t have a clue. Old Warwick Avenue, which runs behind the K of C Hall and for a short stretch parallel to Warwick Avenue before joining it, is a state road. Picozzi said no one notified him as to what is going on.

Fire Chief Edmund Armstrong said yesterday that “usually” the department is notified when bridge or roadway travel is restricted, but he hadn’t heard anything about Old Warwick Avenue, or for that matter the state RhodeWorks program including road and bridge repairs.

“I’ll be checking into it,” he promised.

In a call yesterday, Mayor Scott Avedisian said he spoke with DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr., who was apologetic that the city hadn’t been notified of restrictions on the bridge. At this point, the mayor said there is “no funding for this at all.”

It took a couple of calls to the DOT before the Beacon got an answer.

“This bridge [called the Red Brook Bridge, which carries Old Warwick Avenue over Buckeye Brook] is classified as structurally deficient and is inspected every year. During an inspection on September 2, there were some deficiencies found, including cracks in the arch of the bridge and on the headwalls,” was the explanation provided by DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin in an email.

He said the barriers “were placed on the bridge to direct traffic away from the affected areas and preserve the structure’s service life until future repairs can be made.” When would that happen?

Then there was the clincher.

St. Martin referred to the recently completed 10-year bridge program and that the Red Bridge is one of six Warwick bridges identified to be addressed in 2020. The others are the elevated Green Airport arrival road; the Coronado Road railroad overpass; the Route 5 Pawtuxet River Bridge; the Post Road Extension railroad overpass; and the Toll Gate Road bridge over Hardig Brook. The projected cost of the six bridges, with construction starting in 2020 and slated to end by 2022, is $11.9 million.

That’s six of the 55 Warwick bridges listed in the state plan. According to St. Martin, the plan identifies 720 of the state’s 1,162 bridges for reconstruction or preservation over the next 10 years.

St. Martin couldn’t answer what would happen if further deterioration occurred to the Red Brook Bridge. Would it get moved up on the schedule? Would the bridge be closed to traffic until its turn for repairs came up on the schedule?

While the city hasn’t received a copy of the plan, which is expected to come from Statewide Planning, Avedisian said he expects the city will review the projected work and prioritize projects. That could change the lineup.

If Red Brook Bridge is of particular concern, Avedisian said the city would request that it be moved up on the schedule.

The mayor also observed that the “surge” of bridge construction hinges on the governor’s proposal for truck tolls and the city needs to evaluate the plan both from the perspective of the toll funding as well as should it fail to gain passage.

In an email, the mayor said the DOT released the plan on Oct. 23 following a vote the night before by the State Planning Council’s Transportation Advisory Committee to transmit RIDOT’s 10-year plan, along with other materials, to communities for their review and consideration. He said Planning Council would take this up at their meeting this Thursday and the city would furnish its comments to the state prior to that meeting.

The 632-page report offers a sobering overview to the proposed 10-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

“According to the FHWA, Rhode Island bridges rank worst in the nation,” reads the report. It goes on to say that one in every five bridges in the state “structurally deficient.” The plan calls for a “surge” of bridge construction improvements in the first five years for both reconstruction and preservation and concludes the state can meet the federal minimum standard of 90 percent bridge sufficiency by 2025.

Under the current system of funding, the report says the sate would not meet the standard until 2032 at an additional cost of about $1 billion. The up-front funds to do the plan would come from a $500 million revenue bond that Gov. Gina Raimondo proposes would be supported by a toll on heavy trucks. An additional $400 million is anticipated from the Federal Transportation Administration New Starts program for the transit components of the Route 6/10 interchange reconstruction project.

The plan groups bridgework in an effort to expedite and facilitate the contracting of the numerous projects, explained St. Martin. He was unable to break out the estimated cost of Warwick bridges for that reason.

He stressed that many bridges are at a point where if action isn’t taken soon, the state will be in the position of making far more costly repairs at a later time. Based on those assumptions, the “surge” in bridge construction is projected to save $1 billion if the current rate of reconstruction and preventative maintenance were to continue.