Rhode Island transportation officials spent much of 1999 preparing to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure for the 21st century. The state began preliminary work on the $320-million relocation of an aging stretch of Interstate 195 early last year, and work continued on the $110-million Third Rail project designed to improve the movement of freight to the former naval base at Quonset Point.
The state Department of Transportation last year began the process of buying the property it needs to move the junction of Interstates 95 and 195 a half-mile south of its present location. The department has said it will begin razing the businesses and homes standing in the way of the relocation project later this year.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
When the stretch of I-195 that now splits downtown Providence and the Jewelry District is torn down some six years from now, 35 acres of prime Providence Real estate will be available for development or for use as open space.
Also destined for the wrecking ball is the old Jamestown Bridge. RIDOT announced plans late last year to scrap the span by 2003 after a proposal to turn the metal bridge into a bicycle and walking path failed to garner support from the Jamestown and North Kingstown town councils.
Meanwhile, the Third Rail project scored another $10 million in federal funding in 1999. The $50 million in proceeds from a state bond issue conducted four years ago will match the more than $50 million in federal money that Congress has committed to Third Rail.
The project aims to modernize the state’s outdated freight rail system by increasing overhead clearance to accommodate the double- and triple-stacked railroad cars that have become popular among shippers.
“This is a year in which we’ve been able to secure many projects,” remarked U.S. Sen. Jack Reed after the passage of the federal transportation-spending bill. “There are others we’d like to do, but this year, I think, we have to put down in the category of one that’s been very good for transportation projects in Rhode Island.”
Besides the Third Rail project, Uncle Sam kicked in $6.5 million for T.F. Green Airport improvements and $3.3 million for new Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority buses in 1999.
But the timetable for Amtrak’s high-speed passenger rail service hit a bump last year as mechanical problems pushed the expected start of the 150-mile per hour train service between Boston and New York back from late 1999 to this spring.
And a state audit of Rhode Island Public Transpiration Authority practices released late last year criticized RIPTA for failing to adhere to bidding procedures among other problems. A few weeks later, RIPTA General Manager Beverly Scott ousted one of her top deputies and his son over a missing generator.
Looking forward, RIPTA’s $7-million facelift of Kennedy Plaza is scheduled to begin in March. The project will mean that many buses will have to stop elsewhere during the year-long construction. RIPTA plans a public education campaign later this month to highlight the temporary changes.
From a broad perspective, a Sierra Club report on urban sprawl released last year ranked Rhode Island first in the country in transportation planning. The report praised the Ocean State for building bike paths, launching a commuter ferry and planning a train station to tie into T.F. Green Airport.
The planned $25 million train station is on track and should begin receiving passengers heading to the airport in late 2001, according to RIDOT’s train station project manager Steve Devine.
