L-R RI Reps. Amy Rice, Jay Edwards, FHWA Dan Berman, Rep Patrick Kennedy, RIDOT Director Michael Lewis, Portsmouth Council President Peter McIntyre, Governor Don Carcieri .

Elected officials from the both sides of the river and state and Federal government were on hand this afternoon at the groundbreaking for the new Sakonnet River Bridge. The ceremony, off Riverside Ave. in the shadow of the old bridge, featured speeches by Governor Don Carcieri and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, and much celebration that work on the long-awaited replacement for the existing span is finally underway.

Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael Lewis served as the master of ceremonies, and kicked off by recognizing the many officials attending — on hand from Portsmouth were Council President Peter McIntyre and Councilors Keith Hamilton and Jim Seveney — as well as Reps. Amy Rice and Jay Edwards. Also singled out for thanks were Assistant Division Administrator Dan Berman from the Federal Highway Administration and Director Keith Stokes of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, who got a shout out for giving RIDOT a prod "because of the impact here on the economy of the Island."

Lewis noted the size and importance of the project. "This will be the largest single-bridge construction project RIDOT has ever let," he said, predicting that the project would create more than 100 jobs locally. He stressed the importance of the bridge as a critical link. "It carries 40 thousand vehicles per day, the largest corridor onto the island." He also recognized the impact weight restrictions were having on the community and was frank in his assessment of the current span, saying it is "on its las legs," but promised it would last until the new one is in place.

According to the schedule, Lewis said, the new bridge will be completed by May 2012, and there is a provision for an incentive payment of up to $5M to beat that by a full year. "We would like nothing more than to pay the full bonus," Lewis said.

Governor Carcieri called the new bridge "Hugely important to the infrastructure of the state" and "extraordinarily important to the whole Island." In addition to to the long-term impact, Carcieri stressed the direct economic impact. "We need the jobs. Not just the direct 100-150 jobs it will create, but indrectly, the several hundred more."

Rep. Patrick Kennedy picked up that theme and linked it to the nation's financial crisis. "It takes these common investiments in infrastructure if we want to see our economy improve," Kennedy said. He praised the Cardi Corporation, the winning bidder on the $163M project, as one of Rhode Island's best, and predicted they would beat the construction deadline. "They will rise to the challenge," said Kennedy.

Then Gov. Carcieri, Rep. Kennedy, and Director Lewis, joined by elected officials, posed with shovels and moved the first spadefuls of earth as TV crews and photographers from state-wide media snapped away.

Asked for his thoughts on the day, Council President McIntyre thanked the Governor and RIDOT for "finally getting everything together. It has been a long time coming."

Councilor Jim Seveney said he was looking forward to seeing the new bridge. "I drive underneath it on my jet ski in the summer months, and there's sunlight under there." Councilor Keith Hamilton echoed that sentiment. "I'm a little nervous about being this close to the old one," he said.

Rep Amy Rice said she was excited to see construction begin. "I'm happy that a Rhode Island, family-owned business got the contract," she said. "And, I look forward to the 100 jobs." Rep Jay Edwards said, "Hopefully, they will go as fast as they can, the crews will be safe, and we will have it before 2012."

RIDOT chief engineer Kazem Farhoumand was singled out by Director Lewis as having been involved with the project since he was in the bridge engineering group, fifteen years ago. He described the long process getting to this day, a decade-long series of repairs, impact studies, and engineering plans. "It's an exciting day for me," Farhoumand said.

Pictures up on the Flickr stream.