BURRILLVILLE — Repair work will begin on the Shippee Bridge Monday, a project that is expected to close the Sherman Farm Road span for at least six months, according to town officials.

In the meantime, the state Department of Transportation’s imposed usage restrictions on the bridge, which spans the Nipmuc River on Route 98, remain in place with traffic restricted to one lane at a time and vehicles over three tons required to follow a detour route.
The agency anticipates closing the bridge during the repairs, which would include putting in extra beams underneath the span to bolster it.
At the town’s request, the state began reevaluating the condition of the circa 1800s truss bridge last year to see if temporary repairs could be completed to increase the weight limit.
The weight limit at the time was 5 tons. Inspections of the bridge and a load rating analysis conducted last February found further deterioration to bridge components and a need to lower the weight restriction to 3 tons. Once the repairs are completed, the weight restriction should be eased.
Last May, the town was notified by the 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.
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.