By Jim McGaw

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Advocates and rail enthusiasts are celebrating a new milestone: the long-dormant restoration of the Sakonnet River Rail Bridge has been included in Rhode Island’s recently released Long-Range Transportation Plan , signaling renewed interest in reconnecting Aquidneck Island by rail.

The bridge, originally constructed in 1899 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, served as the only rail crossing between Portsmouth and Tiverton until it was seriously damaged by an overweight train in 1980.

Left open to allow boat traffic, the bridge was further compromised when a barge struck it in 1988. The swing span was removed in 2006, and its piers were demolished by controlled explosion in February 2007.

Since then, the Newport Secondary line has operated solely a

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