STATE HOUSE – At the request of Rep. Lauren Carson, next week the Rhode Island Department of Transportation will offer a public tour of the ongoing reconstruction of the Newport Pell Bridge approaches.
The event, which is free and open to all, is scheduled for Friday, June 10, at 11 am. Parking will be available at the former Newport Grand Casino.
Project manager Jody Richards will lead the half-hour walking tour. Following the tour, there will be time for questions and answers about the project. In addition to Representative Carson, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti will be on hand, and city officials have been invited.
“The reconstruction of the bridge approaches is the biggest public works project in Newport in a half-century, profoundly changing the way people get to and from our city as well as how we get around it. It’s going to take about four years, and it’s shifting into high gear just as our busy summer season is beginning. I would expect people have a lot of questions. I’m grateful to RIDOT for offering this opportunity for people to get their questions answered, and I urge Newporters to take advantage of it,” said Representative Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport).
The project is intended to reduce congestion and backup on the Pell Bridge, which serves as the main point of entry to Newport, bringing drivers on Route 138 across Narragansett Bay from Jamestown into the city. It is also intended to reduce traffic downtown; improve bicycle, pedestrian and public transit opportunities; better connect downtown to the North End for all road users; and spur economic development by creating an “Innovation Hub.”
