PROVIDENCE – An enhanced bus line to service downtown will be initiated within two years, elected officials and transportation authorities announced last week.
The new service, which will follow a 1.4-mile route connecting the Rhode Island Hospital area, the Interstate 195 district and Kennedy Plaza, is a substitute for the recently scrapped Providence streetcar proposal.
The $17 million service, called an enhanced transit corridor, will include six new buses provided to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. It will make use of $13 million in federal TIGER VI funds which had previously been awarded to Providence for construction of a streetcar line. The remaining $4 million will be provided by the state, according to a news release.
The new route will run along Exchange, Dorrance and Eddy streets, running between Kennedy Plaza and the hospital district. The goal is to provide more frequent and convenient service.
The project is expected to be placed for public bids by the fall. •
