Despite state weight restrictions, fire and rescue vehicles will use stone arch span

By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — The chairman of the Harrisville Fire District Operating Committee said the district’s fire engines and other public safety vehicles will pass over the stone arch bridge on East Avenue despite the state’s new weight restrictions that prohibit vehicles over 10 tons.

“Harrisville fire and rescue will pass over the bridge,” said Donald C. Mehrtens, who spoke out Tuesday to ease the concerns of residents fearful the new weight restrictions on the bridge – which is in need of repair — will prohibit Harrisville’s public safety personnel from responding to a fire or some other emergency.
On May 30, the town was notified by the state Department of Transportation that the stone arch bridge on East Avenue — Route 107 at the Harrisville waterfall — would be reduced from 15 to 10 tons effective June 3. That means vehicles weighing over 10 tons (gross vehicle weight of 20,000 pounds or more) — including fire trucks — must seek alternate routes.
Mehrtens says Harrisville’s fire and rescue trucks — including its 80-ton ladder truck — must use the bridge because there is no other route — short of doubling around through the village of Mapleville — to that area of Harrisville, which includes hundreds of residences as well as the Spring Lake Beach facility and the high school and nearby skating rink.
However, Mehrtens says the district will make every attempt to take an alternative route when returning from an emergency call.
The 1906 stone arch bridge on East Avenue is one of three bridges in Harrisville - the Shippee bridge on Sherman Farm Road and the Round Top bridge on Callahan School Street are the two others — and all of them have had their weight limits reduced due to needed repairs.
Mehrtens said when the Department of Transportation notified the town in May that the East Avenue Bridge was next on the list to have its weight restrictions lowered, he was surprised.
“That bridge was rebuilt by the state in 1996 — less than 10 years ago,” he said. “Either the contract didn’t call for covering over the stone arch before the asphalt was put down, or they didn’t put enough material under the asphalt to handle the impact from the traffic.”
As for when the state will begin repairs on the three Harrisville bridges is anyone’s guess. “Work was supposed to start on the Shippee Bridge in June, but I haven’t seen anything going on there yet,” said Mehrtens.
The Harrisville Fire District was originally incorporated in 1910. It is comprised of the Harrisville Fire Department, Hose Company No. 1 and the Harrisville Water Department.
As a natural adjunct to its firefighting function of supplying water to fire hydrants, the district also supplies potable water to residents of the district for a fee based on the volume of water usage.