The $410 million reconstruction of the Route 6-10 connector in Providence is on time and within budget, with one of the project’s major features – a “flyover” bridge to allow traffic to bypass Olneyville Square – expected to open by the end of 2021.
But the massive public works project hasn’t come without controversy in its first two years.
The contractor managing the project, Barletta Heavy Division Inc., of Massachusetts, was told to remove 1,600 cubic yards of soil it had transported to the site from another project location in Massachusetts after the state determined the fill soil had contaminants. The incident is under investigation by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management and the R.I. Office of the Attorney General, according to Peter Alviti Jr., director of the R.I. Department of Transportation.
And some residents who live near the project work site say they remain concerned about the lack of communication from the DOT. The group Fix the 6/10 Coalition, which began when the state was considering how to overhaul the exchange, asked the state to halt construction until the health ramifications of the contamination could be determined.
“Excessive dust from hazardous material has been an express concern of workers on the site, but undoubtedly poses a long-term and serious risk to our neighbors, many already at risk of asthma, cancer and other health issues,” the coalition stated on Oct. 16, after the public disclosure that the soil pile brought into the 6-10 project site had levels of toxins that required the pile to be removed and disposed of in a licensed facility.
The R.I. Department of Health issued an information sheet on the project and the chemicals by email and said the amount of exposure from the contaminated fill was not anticipated to cause health effects.
But residents are still concerned about how site-related issues are being communicated through email messages that don’t provide enough details, said Dwayne Keys, president of the South Providence Neighborhood Association and a spokesman for the Fix the 6/10 Coalition.
“Please be upfront, direct, honest and open to any additional questions we may have about the actual impacts to that area. And what they are actually doing to address it. And we want specific answers,” he said.
Alviti countered that the state has been communicating regularly with the neighborhood associations and 1,100 people on an email list, which residents can sign up for on the RIDOT website.
On the whole, Alviti said, the 6-10 work has been progressing smoothly since it started two years ago. The project, which involves the repair or replacement of nine bridges that carry travelers on Routes 6 and 10 on the west side of Providence, is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2023, according to RIDOT. Seven of those bridges had been deemed “structurally deficient” by the federal government.
“It’s on budget and we expect it to finish on budget,” said Alviti. The project, the largest in state public works history, is being financed with 80% federal dollars and a 20% state match.
It hasn’t been impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic because construction activity was deemed an essential activity.
Some workers were infected with the virus, but the work continued, Alviti said. The pandemic did result in some delayed shipment of supplies, specifically the steel girders on the flyover bridge that will carry Route 10 to Route 6.
In some areas of the massive work site, projects have slipped behind by as much as 100 days mostly because of the delayed shipment of materials, but the length of the contract means that that can be made up over time. The flyover bridge itself, initially intended to come online in 2023, is now scheduled to be finished by the end of 2021, according to a RIDOT spokesman. The 940-foot bridge will carry about 15,400 vehicles a day.
That’s one of the new aspects of the design, which will create a so-called “missing link” that will allow traffic to bypass local streets when heading from Route 10 north to Route 6 west. Now, that traffic has to move through local roads to reach the highway entrance ramp.
The design-build contract for the work was awarded to a joint venture of Barletta and contractors O&G Industries Inc., D.W. White Construction Inc. and Aetna Bridge Co., of Warwick, according to the state.
The biggest challenge has been managing traffic flow through the work site, Alviti said, because the bridges are being replaced roughly within the original footprint, requiring workers to work alongside traffic.
When the work is completed, the most significant change people will see is a new system that is expected to reduce congestion both on the highways and in Olneyville and increase safety because the design incorporates current highway standards, such as longer exit and entrance ramps.
“Generally the infrastructure is going to be smaller,” Alviti said. “It will open up neighborhoods that are blocked by higher viaducts. It will create a more pleasant neighborhood.”
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at
Macdonald@PBN.com.
