This Weekend’s Citizens Bank Pell Bridge Run Will Be Largest To Date

More than 3,000 runners and walkers will take on the Citizens Bank Pell Bridge Run this coming Sunday, October 21st, making the event the largest to date. The eighth annual event, which runs from Jamestown to Newport over the Claiborne Pell Bridge, is the only day of the year that pedestrians are permitted on the bridge. The event is open to all runners and walkers who can maintain a 20 minute per mile pace. The Citizen’s Bank Pell Bridge Run is hosted by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority Foundation and produced by Gray Matter Marketing.

Starting at 5:30 AM on Sunday morning, runners and walkers will be shuttled from the Newport Visitors Center to the race start line in Jamestown. Participants will be assigned to specific shuttle times. The race itself will begin at 7 AM, with participants broken into waves based on pace. Runners and walkers will follow a course on and over the bridge, taking in the sunrise and the stunning fall vistas that the race is known for. They’ll finally descend from the bridge on to Farewell Street and finally finishing back at the Visitors Center on America’s Cup Avenue.

To date, the Citizen’s Bank Pell Bridge Run and the RITBA Foundation have donated more than $535,000 to non-profits through this event. This year, the Citizen’s Bank Pell Bridge Run and the RITBA Foundation have chosen 37 local non-profits that will receive donations from the event. 100% of the proceeds from the event will be donated to these 37 charities. Individuals and teams have raised nearly an additional $42,000 online for both the official charities and other causes of their choosing. Fundraising will remain open through the weekend.

Traffic will be impacted by the race. From 6:45 AM until 7:45 AM, East Shore Road in Jamestown will be closed between the intersection of Conanicus Avenue and the Rt. 138 on/off ramps. Conanicus Avenue will be closed from the Jamestown Golf Course north to the Rt. 138 on-ramp. On the Pell Bridge itself, travel will be reduced to a single lane. State Police detail will be on site to alternate westbound and eastbound travel from 7:00 AM until 8:00 AM. Motorists using the bridge during those times should expect delays. In Newport, from 7:15 AM – 8:45 AM, Farewell Street will be closed through America’s Cup Avenue, and Van Zandt Avenue at the corner of Farewell will also be closed to traffic. Expect delays using America’s Cup and Farewell Street until 9:00 AM, when the event will conclude.