The causeway has been temporarily reopened

Jul 8, 2016

The causeway construction—that had blocked Water Street to the Smith Neck-Gulf roads intersection—is open to drivers again.

Padanaram Causeway Rehabilitation project shut down the area on July 6, but the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has reopened the causeway while it figures out the best methodology for the construction.

The $8,274,700-million project includes roadway, drainage, structural, and lighting improvements along Gulf Road from the eastern edge of the Padanaram Bridge and southerly 550 feet onto Smith Neck Road.

After performing test pits to determine the subsurface conditions of the construction site, engineers now have to decide if they want to proceed with precast or cast-in-place methodology, said Town Administrator David Cressman.

Cast-in-place would cause a stall around August, Cressman explained, but "we can't pick [precast parts] up at Home Depot," he said.

"We pushed for the whole idea of 'open it' because nothing is going to happen in a while," said Cressman. "Hopefully we're saving the frustration."

Town officials are not yet sure when the causeway will be closed off again.

It is not yet clear if or how the fire department and Emergency Medical Service are responding to this.

The project's $8.2 million cost will be managed by MassDOT with federal and state monies, now that the town has finished engineering and permitting, town officials have said.

During the causeway construction, the bridge will be operational for boats and follow a normal schedule. It will, however, be closed to cars.

The forecasted project completion date is June 11, 2018. The general contractor is John Rocchio Corporation from Smithfield, Rhode Island.

The construction project does not include work on the bridge—only the causeway. The causeway is the portion of the road with land and rocks underneath.

Check DartmouthVillageSoup.com for more updates on the causeway construction.