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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Board of Directors recently voted to elect RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis to serve as the association's president. Read more here.
RIDOT is seeking proposals from community-based organizations for seat belt education campaigns. The Department is making $1 million available over a four-year period for programs that increase seat belt usage, including proper usage of child seats. Click here to learn more.
Governor Lincoln D. Chafee on October 1 signed Rhode Island's 2012 Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). The plan is a blueprint for moving Toward Zero Deaths, a national effort to cut traffic fatalities and serious injuries in half by 2030. Watch a video on TZD that premiered at the SHSP signing event.
RIDOT and the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office have teamed up to bring AT&T's "Txtng & Drivng ... It Can Wait" awareness campaign to high schools throughout Rhode Island this year. Click here to watch the compelling 10-minute video being shown as part of this program.
RIDOT is now accepting applications from vendors to help the Department with plowing and sanding operations.
RIDOT is installing murals on bridge abutments and retaining walls that are prone to graffiti, beginning with this mural on I-195 West in East Providence. Click on the photo to enlarge the image or click here to learn more about the latest installation along I-95 in Pawtucket.
RIDOT is proud to introduce Resonate, a series of new initiatives that marks the Department's commitment to the community and the men and women who dedicate themselves to provide the best transportation system possible for Rhode Islanders.
RIDOT is inviting commuters to sample rail service from Wickford Junction to Providence with free parking and round-trip train travel as part of Wickford Wintertime Wednesdays from January 23 to February 27.
Commuter rail service at the Wickford Junction began in April 2012 with 20 weekday stops to and from T.F. Green Station and Providence Station and 15 stops offering connecting service back and forth to Boston.
Travel time from Wickford to Warwick is about 15 minutes, Wickford to Providence is about 35 minutes, and it’s less than two hours from Wickford to Boston’s South Station. This train service is expected to help alleviate peak-hour congestion along the Route 4 and I-95 corridor.
RIDOT has identified $22 million of repairs to State Roads along Rhode Island's southern coast that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Explore the links below to learn more:
RIDOT used accelerated bridge construction methods to completely replace the Frenchtown Brook Bridge in East Greenwich in just one month.
The safety and preservation of the Rhode Island highway system is the top priority of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. RIDOT staff is involved in designing, constructing, inspecting and maintaining our bridge inventory, and is committed to ensuring these structures remain safe.
The Iway (I-195 Relocation) Project is largely complete, but additional work remains to reconstruct city streets bisected by the highway corridor.
RIDOT intends to award the next Iway contracts in early 2013.
Click here to learn more about the Iway
Heavy equipment was used along with plows to push huge volumes of snow piled up along the edges of roads from the weekend's blizzard.
RIDOT remains active with final cleanup operations on Monday from the weekend blizzard, as well as dealing with freezing rain and localized flooding caused by rainfall and clogged drains.
Motorists should remain cautious when driving on Monday as winter conditions persist. Sight distance at intersections and highway ramps may be limited due to snow piles, and be careful to share the road with pedestrians if sidewalks are not cleared. Additionally, power outages continue to affect traffic signals.
Remember to take it slow in ice and snow.
Rhode Island, like the rest of the country, is struggling to maintain its system of roads and bridges under very challenging financial constraints. Generally, the level of investment in infrastructure improvement has not kept pace with demand or the escalating costs of construction. With the opening of the new Sakonnet River Bridge this fall, RIDOT does not have the resources to properly maintain the structure.
As a means of preserving this vital state asset, RIDOT is exploring the establishment of a tolling facility on this bridge. As part of this process, the Department has filed a Reevaluation Report on the bridge's Environmental Impact Statement to the Federal Highway Administration. Click here to view the report in its entirety.
RIDOT has received $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER grant program that will allow the Department to accelerate the rehabilitation of the Providence Viaduct. This 1,290-foot multi-span bridge carries I-95 through the heart of Providence and carries more traffic than any other segment of the Interstate in Rhode Island.
RIDOT intends to replace this bridge in phases to minimize the impact of its estimated $169 million cost by spreading it over several years. The $10 million grant allows the Department to begin work one year earlier than planned.
RIDOT is currently replacing the Pawtucket River Bridge, which carries I-95 over the Seekonk River in Pawtucket. On September 15, 2012, RIDOT shifted I-95 South to a new bridge, eliminating all truck detours.
Read more about the Pawtucket River Bridge Project.
RIDOT is working to replace the aging Sakonnet River Bridge, which carries Route 24 between Tiverton and Portsmouth. All traffic has been shifted to the new bridge, but work will continue on other elements of the project through next year.