Uncovering a Piece of History for Public Access

Lincoln, RI – On Sunday, May 15^th over 200 volunteers gathered in Newport, Rhode Island to work on a service project for the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association (IBTTA).  The IBTTA represents toll facility owners, operators, and the businesses that serve them. The Association is in Newport this week for its Annual International Conference, which includes a yearly service project.

This year, the IBTTA volunteers partnered with volunteers from The Maher Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Newport to work with the Fort Adams Trust on the restoration of the Southern Redoubt at Fort Adams, a historic fortification in need of rehabilitation in order to be made available for public enjoyment and guided tours.  The castle-like fortress, built in the 1800’s as the first layer of land defense for Fort Adams, has not been manned since the 1950’s. Since then, the fort has been completely over-run with poison ivy, bittersweet, and multi-flora rose.

The service project included a strong presence of equipment and manpower from both the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority, providing support that was central to the success of the project, which included extensive brush cutting, the construction of a bridge across the moat, building new staircases, and various landscaping tasks to make public access to the Southern Redoubt possible. In the history of the fort, the Southern Redoubt has never before been open to the public.

BETA Group, Inc. (BETA) employees proudly led the landscaping volunteers in an effort to re-grade the land and remove brush and invasive plants in the inner and outer ditches and along the perimeter. This work will restore much of the original appearance of the fortification and allows for the reestablishment of low-growing grasses, resulting in easier maintenance going forward.

BETA has been working closely with the Fort Adams Trust and RIDEM on other enhancement and security aspects of rehabilitating the Southern Redoubt over the past year.  BETA worked on the design of security bars, fencing, and gates to help secure the fort entrances and a kiosk with signage to educate visitors and encourage participation in guided tours. The signage was secured to the kiosk as a part of Sunday’s project.

Once open, tours of the Southern Redoubt will be held on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 2:00pm. To learn more about the Fort Adams Trust and support the continuing efforts to restore this National Historic Landmark, please visit: www.fortadams.org.

BETA Group, Inc. Founded in 1982, BETA Group, Inc. provides state agencies, municipalities and private clients with planning, engineering, landscape architecture, design, asset management and construction services. BETA is ranked by Engineering News-Record in the Top 500 Design firms and has received awards from the American Public Works Association, American Council of Engineering Companies and other prestigious groups for both service and project design. BETA has over 140 employees in offices in Lincoln, Rhode Island; Norwood, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Chicopee, Massachusetts. Visit www.BETA-Inc.com, Twitter (@BETAGroupInc) or LinkedIn (BETA Group, Inc.) for more information.