RIDOT, Turnpike Authority Inspecting Bridges Following 5.9 Earthquake

Rhode Island engineers and transportation officials were inspecting Portsmouth and Newport's main spans following the 5.9 earthquake that shook up the East Coast Tuesday afternoon. 

Sakonnet River Bridge

Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman Charles St. Martin says the DOT is inspecting all of the state's projects, including the . 

"We are checking all of our projects," St. Martin said.

St. Martin said he doesn't expect engineers and inspectors to find problems "given the minor magnitude of the earthquake." 

"At this minute (4 p.m.), we haven't found anything," he said. "We don't expect any problems." 

Inspectors checked the Sakonnet River Bridge project, late this afternoon.

The Sakonnet River Bridge spans both Portsmouth and Tiverton. The Cardi Corp. is currently constructing a replacement to this bridge, with an expected opening date of spring 2012. 

Mount Hope Bridge and The Claireborne Pell Bridge

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority also reported checking its two main spans, the Mount Hope Bridge and Claiborne Pell Bridge, following Tuesday's earthquake. 

According to Darlington, inspectors and engineers performed site inspections this afternoon on both spans and in the water.

"We have asked the inspectors and the engineers to perform inspections," he said. "We found no repercussions from the earthquake."

The earthquake approximately struck at 1:51 p.m. this afternoon with construction workers on both the Mount Hope Bridge and the Pell Bridge, also known as the Newport Bridge. 

"We had people on both bridges at the time," said David A. Darlington, chairman of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. "Nobody sensed any movement on the structures. However, these suspension bridges are constructed to move slightly." 

One of the Turnpike and Bridge Authority's top employees, Director of Engineer Peter Janaros, was on the Pell Bridge at the time of the earthquake. According to Darlington, Janaros did not feel the earthquake on the 11,247 ft. long structure.