The Newport Spring Leadership Committee and the design team, headed by L+A Landscape Architecture of Newport, RI, will be conducting a public information update meeting on October 19, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at the Newport Public Library Program Room to present the Historic Newport Town Spring project’s progress-to-date and ongoing developments including the scheduled site remediation activities and the temporary closure of Courthouse Street to accommodate the related activities.

Site Remediation: Traffic construction detour anticipated to begin October 23, 2017

Site remediation is required on the former gas station site that includes the removal of two, 10,000-gallon gas tanks, the hydraulic jacks located within the service station in addition to any contaminated surface materials encountered.   The site will then be capped with clean fill. The site remediation construction activities will require the temporary closure of Courthouse Street to expedite the construction schedule for these related activities.  The construction period is expected to take approximately 2-3 weeks.  The temporary construction traffic detour plan will be presented at the meeting that will reroute traffic through this area during construction.  The RI Department of Environmental Management requires that these activities be completed by December 22, 2017.  The goal is to accommodate the work activities well in advance of the upcoming holiday season while avoiding potential fines of $25,000 per day that could be imposed by the RI Department of Environmental Management.

Goals for the redesign of the Newport Town Spring site include:

  •  Preservation of the unique historical significance of the site: The original town spring, around which our community was founded on the sole premise of religious freedom and tolerance.
  •  Open space guarantee: A space that provides new opportunities for public access and civic enjoyment in perpetuity.
  •  Traffic & pedestrian circulation and safety improvements in this complicated intersection.
  •  A sustainable, community-based design that will foster cultural & economic vitality.

For more information about the Historic Newport Spring Project, go to the website www.historicnewportspring.org.