Name: William D. Ankner, Ph.D
Position: Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Backround: Ankner joined the DOT in December, 1996 after serving as Director of Financial Management and Budget at the Delaware DOT for three years. Ankner also had a variety of tasks at the New Jersey DOT from 1990 to 1993. Previously he worked for the South Jersey Transportation Authority and also served for eight years on the faculty of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, including a one-year fellowship with the Federal Highway Administration.
Education: Ankner holds a Ph.D and a master’s degree from the University of Ottawa, an L.Ph. from St. Paul’s University (Ottawa), and a bachelor’s from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts.
Age: 52
Residence: North Smithfield
Family: married with two grown sons
PBN: Why is the DOT relocating the portion of Rt. 195 running through Providence?
ANKNER: It’s very simple: The concrete is turning to sand. It needs to be replaced. We can’t replace it where it is because we would have to close one direction of traffic down and move all the traffic into the other direction. Even if we could do that without massive traffic we would still get a road with a 1950s and early 60s design. We still would have problems with the interchanges and with safety.
The roadways in that area that exist today are not reliable. Cement is turning to sand, it is a roadway that is not efficient and it is a roadway that we will have to spend tens of millions of dollars to upkeep. The money will be spent on roadways that will continue to fall apart. In contrast the relocation will give us a highway that is a half-mile shorter, a roadway that is meeting current design standards and a roadway that is much safer.
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Describe the challenges this project will present for the DOT?
They’re huge. This is going to be one of the bigger projects the department has taken on since the interstate was built. There are 134 parcel of properties that we need to relocate. We have to buy all of the property before we can relocate the utilities, we have to relocate the utilities before we start building. We have major utility issues. We have an oil tank we have to move. This is a major job. We are going out there sub-contracting with the private sector to develop a real estate team to start buying properties.
What is the estimated cost of the 195 project?
The (Environmental Impact Statement) has it at $320 million. We did some value engineering and brought it down to $270 million. But, that is 1998 dollars. The financial plan is in a 10 to 11 year schedule. If we take the 1998 dollar and do 10 years just the inflation factor brings the price to $342 million. Obviously, the faster we get this done the better. So between $270 million to $342 million is the estimate.
When is the earliest that construction could begin?
My staff and I are having a debate on that as we speak. My staff is saying 2 1/2 to three years and I say 2 years.
Some business people are excited about the project because it will help reunite the Jewelry District with downtown. Was that a factor at all in moving the highway?
That is certainly one of the side benefits, but it is not the reason we are doing it, though there are people who believe that is the reason we are doing it. I think 195 is an ugly scar dividing part of the city. By relocating this we are recognizing this roadway is part of the community and should be something that fits within the community. We think it is better to be on the opposite side of the river. That also frees up property that is being bisected by 195, making it an important part of the city
Already the state and Providence officials have differing opinions on what will happen to that property? How do you see this playing out?
Well it is the state’s property. There is an estimated value of $30-70 million over 20 years for the property. The idea is not to create a confrontation between the city and ourselves. We want to work with the city on any development there. I think it is important for us to find ways of having the major transportation projects finance themselves as best we can. We will not be able to come up with $342 million. If we can get from $30-70 million in revenues to help finance it why shouldn’t we? Why would we ignore that? The city will still have a say in development and get the tax revenues generated.
Is there a concern this will be Rhode Island’s version of the Big Dig in Boston?
Sure, in one sense. It is Rhode Island’s Big Dig in terms of cost. Also it will have an impact on the state transportation system, more so when complete. Hopefully we will do a better job in how it impacts the public and businesses. The impact will be when we do– work on the interchanges and when we tie in. I think we have a pretty good handle on the cost. I don’t expect the cost escalation that the Big Dig saw.
You call the ramp project around the mall “the Civic Center ramp.” Why is that?
It’s not so much a ramp for the mall as it is for the Civic Center and that area as a whole. 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. This should have been done when the Convention Center was built. It isn’t the mall as much as the existing problems that need to be addressedthis is going to eliminate a bad problem that has existed.
Can you tell me about the problems you expect the mall to create on local traffic as well as the highway?
I think there is going to be what my staff calls the gawk factor. How long it will last will be a problem. Any time you try to get instantaneous access to something it will overwhelm any infrastructure. We are working with the city and the garage operators and plan to significantly minimize the impact. The red letter day for us will be Aug. 21. That will be the first Saturday the mall will be open and we just learned that at the Convention Center the Antique Road Show from PBS will be in town. The Antique Road Show’s policy is to give the first 7,000 people who show up free appraisals. You are going to have lots of people coming to the area at once. We will develop strategies, but there will be problems.
Do you think Rhode Island residents’ opinions of the roads and bridges in the state have been more favorable in recent years?
Hopefully the perception is a little better. We have changed part of our philosophy. We used to try to rebuild fully, like road widening projects and multiple construction season projects, which are very expensive. We are now trying to get away from that because it absorbs so much of our financial resources when there are other areas that need attention.
This was really the direction the governor and I agreed on when we talked initially. We need to start to rebuild the existing infrastructure — the resurfacing done last year of Route 1 for example. Projects like that were on our program for years – to do widening and upgrades, new drainage systems, lighting system. We were not doing it. Instead we decided to do at least some work on it. We took out the heaves and the major bumps, basically resurfaced the road. People are now at least getting a ride in which they are not seeing their shocks go or teeth go from the bumps.
It’s a matter of trying to change philosophy and rebuild what we have without going into any major investments. That means more money has been available to do more projects. We will have more contracts out this year than in the history of the department. The dollars are not greater than we have spent before, but the projects are.
Federal funding has been increasing. Do you expect that trend to continue?
Thanks to Senator Chafee and the rest of the delegation we have gone from $85 million to $156 million a year. Not a bad increase in one year. Now it will be $156 million for six years.
Is there a concern that those funds will be impacted with Chafee’s retirement?
There is concern. I have been concerned because Sen. Chafee has been so good to the statehe has fought for us. But I also have confidence in the delegation that we will hold our own into the future.
Tell me about the traffic operation center in the state introduced last year?
It’s going to be an important part in addressing concerns about traffic in the city. One of the projects we will be doing in Providence we will be putting in 22 new cameras before October and putting in more message signs. The idea behind the traffic operation center is instead of trying to build one’s way out of congestion we are trying to manage our way out of congestion by utilizing information to better flow traffic. We will be able to inform people ahead of time and shift traffic.
