The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has awarded the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) with an $81 million grant to improve access to the Quonset Business Park.
The funding will be used to complete the final link between Route 4 and I-95, providing a more direct north-south route for drivers. The project, which is expected to begin in 2025, will also create three new missing ramps to improve access for truck and freight drivers.
The Quonset Business Park is home to more than 225 businesses and 14,000 jobs. The park is also home to the Port of Davisville, which is one of the nation’s largest points of import for new cars.
The new connection will help to reduce congestion and pollution in residential neighborhoods, while also improving safety and freight connectivity. The project is expected to reduce approximately 500 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year.
The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant program, which supports large-scale highway and multimodal projects across the country. The program provides funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for projects that might otherwise stall without additional federal support.
The grant is the second-largest ever awarded to Rhode Island by the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant program, following the $60.3 million grant received in 2019 to rebuild the Northbound Providence Viaduct.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant program provides funding for large-scale highway and multimodal projects across the country. The program supports projects that are designed to improve safety, reduce congestion and pollution, and create jobs.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
