PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation is moving forward on design and construction of a series of new bus hubs, intended to improve service for passengers who use both transit and rail through Providence.
The Providence Multi-Hub Bus System will involve bus hubs scattered across downtown Providence, including at the Interstate-195 Redevelopment District, Kennedy Plaza and Providence Station. Full buildout is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023, according to a schedule released Thursday.
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Rhode Island voters authorized $30 million for a state transit hub and improvements several years ago. Since then, state officials have decided to not have a single hub at Providence Station, but multiple hubs in the downtown.
In addition to the state funds, additional financial support for the stations and improvements are expected to come through Amtrak, the federal government, National Grid Rhode Island and the city of Providence, according to RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr.
Bus service provided by the R.I. Public Transit Authority will provide more frequent service connecting the hospital district to Providence Station, using the new stations as they are completed.
According to the construction schedule released Thursday, a request for design services will be issued in August. By next spring, designs for the three bus hubs should be completed. Construction of the hub at the edge of the I-195 district is expected to begin first, in the summer of 2021, with Kennedy Plaza’s hub starting that fall. The Providence Station hub would begin in the Spring of 2022.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
Good news! We will finally reconnect the transportation services that were severed when we moved the river and the AMTRAK station.