So far this year, the state has made important steps in moving forward with two major transportation projects that will undoubtedly impact Rhode Island’s business community. After more than a decade of planning, the state started preliminary work earlier this year on the relocation of an aging stretch of Route 195, a move expected to open acres of prime development land and reunite neighborhoods with downtown Providence.
Meanwhile, work has already begun on the Third Rail project designed to improve the movement of freight to the former naval facility at Quonset Point. The U.S. Senate is expected to approve another $10 million to the $110 million project soon.
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It will be the Route 195 relocation that will surely catch the eye of most Rhode Islanders during the second half of 1999 and beyond.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is in the process of buying land this month to lay down a new, 2-1/2 mile stretch of Route 195 to be located parallel to the hurricane barrier, a half-mile south of the existing highway.
It’s a project expected to exceed $320 million, and if all goes well will be completed within six years, a timetable set by the condition of the aging bridges that now support the existing portion of highway.
“Engineers estimate that in six years we will have to put some serious restrictions on the weight limits of the highway, because the structure will not be safe,” said DOT director William D. Ankner.
The highway in question, running from Route 95 to the pedestrian bridge on Route 195, is showing signs of the state’s lack of maintenance during cash-strapped times. Concrete from the bridges is falling onto property below and disintegrating into sand in some spots, Ankner said. Emergency work, like the addition of steel supports, has helped keep the highway safe for the time being, but is only a temporary solution that’s not cost effective, he added.
The relocation of Route 195 is expected to create a more direct, straighter highway, which will be safer for motorists and more effective in handling traffic.
Businesses and developers are also excited that the move will make 35 acres of land available when the existing highway is torn down. While 28 acres of property must be acquired for the new highway structure, the opened land is closer to downtown and considered prime for development.
Although dozens of businesses south of the existing Route 195 will have to be relocated to make room for the new highway, businesses in the jewelry district say the project overall will help. Many believe it will reunite the area with the downtown while ridding the district of bridges, a constant eyesore.
A THIRD RAIL will speed freight transportation.
“The jewelry district has improved tremendously in the last several years and this project will help that area even more,” said Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. He said new roadways and improvements to existing streets will create a seamless tie-in with the jewelry district.
The project calls for building a highway that will run from Route 195 to Route 95 along the hurricane barrier, eliminating the winding path that exists today.
The highway will connect with Route 95 midway between the Thurbers Avenue exit and the existing Route 195 connection, opposite Rhode Island Hospital. On Route 195 the connection will veer off near the pedestrian bridge.
Aside from correcting flaws and removing bridges in the outskirts of downtown, Ankner said there was “a killer reason” that the DOT didn’t want to rebuild in the existing location.
“Where would we put all the traffic during years of construction?” he said. “You remember what happened with the Washington Bridge project. That was nothing compared to this project. We would have traffic backed-up to Fall River.”
The federal highway bill that passed last May gave the state more money, enough to start this project. Financing the project will involve 90 percent federal funds and 10 percent from the state. While the majority of the cost will be paid by the federal government, the money the state will contribute could be offset by the development of land at the existing highway.
Rhode Island delegates in Washington have been busy trying to secure funding for another mode of transportation as well.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island recently said he expects $10 million in federal funds to be earmarked for the Third Rail project. The project has already received $28 million from Congress over the past three fiscal years. The additional $10 million would bring the federal contribution closer to the goal of $50 million that is needed. The state also has provided $50 million in matching funds for the freight-rail upgrade.
“The ability to ship materials and products by freight rail is critically important to the survival and growth of Rhode Island’s industry and the overall economic health of our state,” Reed said. “The investment in the rail project means a stronger economy and more jobs for Rhode Islanders.”
Plans by Amtrak to install a high-speed electrified railway system along the 157-mile leg of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston put the future of freight-rail service in Rhode Island in jeopardy. Freight trains currently use those Amtrak lines during off-hours, but would not be able to do so when the high-speed system is in place.
The proposed link of the Third Rail from Quonset Point to Central Falls will be 22 miles long.
Many businesses in the state rely heavily on the outcome of this project. For some manufacturers, freight rail service is the only affordable way to transport a heavy volume of raw materials, like lumber, metal and steel. The automobiles industry also relies on rail transportation.
As part of the project, rail beds will have to be made low enough and bridges expanded to accommodate double-stacked freight cars.
U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, said the freight line is vital to Rhode Island’s big picture.
The Third Track is of unparalleled importance to the economic integrity of our state,” Kennedy said. “While the Congressional delegation had requested $15 million in Fiscal Year 2000, I am pleased that the transportation subcommittee has chosen to support the program by funding $10 million.”
In downtown Providence, the highway ramp for Providence Place is taking shape. That’s a project state officials say has been long overdue.
It’s not so much a ramp for the mall as it is for the Civic Center and that area as a whole,” Ankner said. “We need a better way of managing traffic and that is what the project is going to do. This interchange had serious problems irrespective of the mall.”
