Pawtucket River Bridge Park

Pawtucket, Rhode Island | 2010-2011 (unbuilt)

Ron Henderson, Tanya Kelley, Kate Dana; Collaboration Thurlow Small Architects

Recognition Exhibition, “Unbuilt,” Design Miami, 2015

Trees (19)

As part of the work for replacement of Bridge 550 by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Lirio and Thurlow Small Architecture investigated the transformation of the proposed storm water retention basin into a publicly accessible park that would connect the School Street neighborhood to the Blackstone River.

Pawtucket Bridge Park merges transportation engineering, ecological logics with public space that culminates in a cantilevered overlook that affords prospects to the river below and the illuminated trusses that carry Bridge 550 over the Pawtucket River above.

A linear water channel collects shallow water runoff from the bridge deck for infiltration while landforms accommodate larger water volumes up to 70% of the 100 year flood stage as part of the variance obtained by RIDOT from CRMC. The one-acre park balances public infrastructure with safe public access to provide new ways to see and experience Bridge 550 and the newly designated Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park.