Home razing, new road at URI advance

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island is moving closer to demolishing three structures to complete a new roadway.
The university received permission this week from the State Properties Committee to raze a house standing in the way of the project.
The project will build a roadway around the 1,600-vehicle Plains Road parking lot and connect the northwest bend in Plains Road to the western end of Flagg Road.
URI Vice President for Administration Robert Weygand said the project will provide easier access to campus from surrounding main roads, particularly Route 138. It will also shift traffic away from perimeter parking lots and offer easier access to campus event locations, including the Thomas M. Ryan Center.
Two residencies and a small, stone building utilized for the school’s potato farm stand in the way of the planned roadway. Two of these structures have been in URI’s possession for about 75 years; however, the main concern for the project has been the 600-square-foot building at 362 Plains Road – once a privately owned home. It is approximately 50 years old and has undergone several alterations. The house also withstood a fire several years ago.
The university received approval to proceed with negotiations to purchase the property in January 2008. A year ago the school bought the slightly less than half-acre property and Weygand said he expects demolition to begin shortly and to be completed by the fall.
URI hopes to have a pricing contract and complete plans for the roadway finished by late fall so that road construction can begin this winter. The road is expected to open by the end of next summer and be ready for the start of school in September 2011.