AASHTO Journal, 7 December 2012
Rhode Island Department of Transportation officials were joined by elected officials and community members last Friday to celebrate the completion of Waterfront Drive in East Providence.
The $6.6 million 1.1-mile project, which built a new roadway in a “previously underutilized” section of the area, allows for better access to existing businesses in the area while also providing a catalyst for future business growth. The roadway, which was partially funded through $4.8 million in federal funds, allows for industrial traffic and helps divert unnecessary truck traffic from the surrounding residential neighborhoods and links Warren Avenue to Dexter Road. Construction began on the project at the end of June 2011 and it was unofficially opened in early November, delivering the project on schedule and on budget.
“By constructing this new roadway, we are improving access for the community in an environmentally conscious way,” said RIDOT Director and AASHTO President Mike Lewis in a statement.
Various elected officials were on hand at the celebration to express their pleasure with the project.
“Investing in East Providence’s transportation infrastructure improves safety and creates opportunities for economic development,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “This new roadway will help spur future business growth in the area, bolstering the city and state economies. I commend RIDOT for completing this important phase of the Waterfront development plan.”
RIDOT constructed the first .4-mile portion of the roadway (from Bold Point Park to Warren Avenue) in 2008, bringing the total length of Waterfront Drive to 1.5 miles. RIDOT plans on building an additional two miles of roadway along the P&W Railroad line (to Beverage Hill Avenue in Pawtucket) and would someday like to continue the project up to Newport Avenue in Pawtucket.
RIDOT partnered with the University of Rhode Island’s Transportation Center and its College of the Environment and Life Sciences to use the Waterfront Drive project as a pilot for the state’s Diesel Retrofit Program in order to cut down on diesel emissions. RIDOT reports that early findings show there have been reductions in the amount of pollution released into the air from construction vehicles.