After a winter respite, sewer-line installation along Providence’s Hope Street has returned, along with traffic detours, parking woes and inconveniences to pedestrians, all of which are causing disruptions and headaches for the area’s small businesses. more

Solar energy to date has largely been focused on buildings – business and residential – and ways in which their inhabitants can reduce carbon footprints via personal responsibility. more

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s congressional delegation last week announced that the state will receive federal funding to help replace the aging Providence Viaduct, a critical part of Interstate 95. more

SMITHFIELD – The R.I. Department of Transportation was scheduled to reopen the Stillwater Viaduct to traffic last week, approximately five weeks ahead of schedule. more

Gasoline prices in the Ocean State fell 1 cent this week in the ninth consecutive week of price declines, AAA Southern New England reported Monday. more

BOSTON – Twenty-nine private truckers and food-processing companies, including several in Bristol County, Mass., will receive $817,896 in federal and other grants to install technologies to reduce the diesel exhaust emissions of 63 long-haul trucks and diesel engines serving local wholesale markets and warehouses under MassCleanDiesel, a state-sponsored grant program. more

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Rhode Island ranked No. 13 for largest repair costs associated with a car’s check engine light, according to a new report released Tuesday by CarMD.com Corp. more

After a six-month wait for needed approvals, Metropark LTD. recently opened a new surface parking lot at 43 Weybosset St. behind the old National Bank façade. “Restaurants are doing better than last year and, yes, there are more people working downtown. … Demand [for parking] is up,” said Charlie Meyers, president of Metropark. The company’s citywide revenue is up 10 percent this year. Revenue from city parking meters is also up, 55 percent since 2009, according to Providence Parking Administrator Leo Perrotta. more

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation and Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin are joining forces to bring AT&T’s “Txting & Drivng … It Can Wait” campaign to Rhode Island schools. more

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc. is considering a bid for part or all of Hawker Beechcraft Inc., the bankrupt business-jet maker in exclusive talks with China’s Superior Aviation Beijing Co., Bloomberg News reported. more