The little park along the river down on the Rhode Island end of our street has been impossible to get to since last March. The bridge was gone, being replaced.
It was hard to argue with the project. The bridge was in such poor condition, we had reported it to the road repair people in Rhode Island. They said they knew, not to worry. Nonetheless, the next time we went that way, there was a “no trucks” sign as well as a stop sign and a 5 mile per hour speed limit. Which we and everyone else observed. It’s rare in this part of the world for anyone to slow down for anything. But that bridge was scary. You could feel it bowing and creaking as you drove over it.
I could, in my mind’s eye, see the headline:
“UXBRIDGE COUPLE KILLED IN RI BRIDGE COLLAPSE”
(Film at 11.)
I hoped we were not going to be the precipitating event to finally get the repair crews started. Luckily, they started before a collapse and tragedy.
I expected them to just repair it. Replacing bridges is expensive. Rarely do they completely replace a bridge and you can bet, when they do, it had reached the point of no return. Apparently this bridge was beyond repair.
They replaced it completely with a brand new, solid cement structure. Solid. They also shored up the riverbank which had been eroding. Where there was a rolling hillside and a picnic table, there’s now a reinforced concrete abutment.
Photo: Garry Armstrong – Reflections in the water
No more erosion there. I rather preferred the look of the grass, but I understand that the intent was to keep this piece of river navigable.
It was wonderful to get back to this little piece of river. The trees were bright with autumn. A huge green heron flew just over my head. Of course I didn’t get a picture. I never do. I am too slow for wildlife pictures. Unless they stand still and pose for me, I miss the shot every time.
I think I was faster when I was younger. Certainly my reflexes were better, as was my eyesight. These days, I thank the powers-that-be for whoever invented auto-focus.
Photo: Garry Armstrong
And so we went photographing in Harrisville, Rhode Island on this bright and shining day in October. It is turning out to be an excellent autumn with delightful weather and brilliant color. I’m glad to share it with you.
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Categories: #BlackstoneRiver, #Photography, Anecdote, Autumn, Blackstone Valley, New England
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Garry’s photo of the reflection of colours in the water is especially nice. The colours are unbelievable. They are much more intense there than they are here.
Leslie
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The colors are magnificent, Leslie. Great time and locale for pics.
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Well the leaves certainly look pretty!
And it makes a lot of sense to me to have cars going over the dilapidated bridge at a speed where their weight is going to be bearing down on it for an even longer amount of time than at normal speeds. Thankfully, they didn’t have to name the new bridge in yours and Garry’s honor…
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Squirrel, I think I can wait for such an honor.
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I myself was pleased to not be the patron couple for a new bridge. The old one was actually cement over rotting wood with old, rusted iron struts, two of which had come completely detached. It was a news story waiting to happen, so it’s nice they did something about it BEFORE it became a headline. Of course, we could not get to that part of Rhode Island for nearly a year, but hey, whose counting? The new construction looks very substantial. I think the old one was from two centuries ago 🙂
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Looks like a very beautiful place!
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It is, though our Siberian style winters are not my favorite part 🙂
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The only place I can get a bird in flight at leisure is when I take a walk to the local castle. I can sit on a bench with my camera and watch them circling around. If you are lucky there are a few kites which are a size bigger than the crows. I noticed even my 300 lens is too small to get all the details. Your Autumn colours are spectacular, we are not yet that far, but In noticed the apple tree has a few yellow leaves.
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Sometimes, I get lucky. When a heron is fishing, it will stand motionless, just waiting for a fish to swim near. If you don’t get too close, or make noise, you can get pictures … with the right lens. And they are big birds … the great herons are as tall as me. Otherwise, I get very few live action photos.
Our Autumn colors are spectacular. It’s pretty much what we’re known for. I probably take more pictures in October than most of the rest of the year combined. Autumn is the reward we get for surviving the rest of the year 🙂
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The fall leaves have really turned color in the last week or 10 days — it’s beautiful! I always worry about signs that make me go 5 mph over a rickety bridge — that just means I’m on top of the bridge for a longer period of time!
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I thought of that too, especially while we are ON the bridge. I think they were worried about the vibration of fast moving vehicles. They should have closed it entirely. Some kayakers under it said the struts were rusted through and hanging loose. I’m pretty sure it was just about ready to collapse. The problem is, it’s a main road … the only road from south central MA to Harrisville and Slatersville. There are some really tiny side roads, but this is the state road. They should never have allowed it to get that rickety and they are very lucky no one got hurt.
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The old bridge was a disaster waiting to happen.
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