Because of work through the winter and a switch okayed by Newport Water, the road, sidewalk and drainage project on upper Aquidneck Avenue is due to finish in late September or early October in #MiddletownRI.
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
UPPER AQUIDNECK AVENUE WORK PROGRESSING
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (APRIL 25, 2023) – The upper Aquidneck Avenue road, sidewalk and drainage project is on target for a late September-early October completion date.
State Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Acting Administrator of Project Management Lori Fisette said the plan was to shift to nighttime work hours in June for paving and sidewalk construction.
That way, she said the interruptions to area businesses and the busy summer tourist season would be kept to a minimum while building continues between East Main Road and Green End Avenue.
During a recent briefing before the Town Council in Town Hall, Fisette asked anyone with questions, concerns or comments to contact her directly at 401-340-0246 so she could help.
“We want to keep the project moving,” Fisette said. “We didn’t want to have a third season of construction. We know (the town) didn’t want us out there three years.”
After hearing concerns for years about the deteriorating road surface as well as poor drainage and no sidewalks, the RIDOT held groundbreaking for the $9 million project in March 2022. Cardi Corp. was named as the project contractor, with a fall 2023 completion date expected.
Last week, Fisette said because of delays securing a water pipe due to COVID-19 related supply shortages, that timeline had been at risk.
However, because changes approved by the City of Newport Water Division and a mild winter, things were now largely back on track. Originally, the project was supposed to shut down for the winter season between Dec. 15, 2022 and April 15.
“(Newport Water was) willing to substitute a portion of the pipe, which allowed us to start our work at the time we were ready,” Fisette said. “Had they not been willing to do that, we would have had to delay the project probably for about a year.”
Working through the winter months created its own set of issues, Fisette said.
“It was a really rough surface during wintertime,” Fisette said. “It’s very difficult to keep up with paving during the winter months. While we sent them out there a number of times to continue to (put patch) on stretches of roadway, we know it didn’t make a whole lot of difference, but we kept the project moving and were able to pull back a little bit of time.”
“During the winter, (the project contractor) put down as much cold patch as they want,” Fisette added. “Cold patch is so temporary. The freeze-thaw, especially the winter we had. It was warm, then it was hot and then cold, that (patch) comes up in days. As fast as they were putting it down and then back in that area ripping it up, it was impossible.”
Council President Paul M. Rodrigues asked that RIDOT to do everything possible to make the road passable during construction.
“There’s always going to be inconveniences and people want things like this nowadays. I think we all get it, but you’ve got to make it passable,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “That’s all we ask.”
Councilwoman M. Theresa Santos said it was nice to hear the sidewalks were happening and would be available for local students soon. The building housing Gaudet Middle School and the Gaudet Learning Academy are at 1113 Aquidneck Ave. at the heart of the project area. For the last several years, Santos has repeatedly asked that sidewalks be installed there to make it safer for pedestrians — particularly students.
“We see these young people walking Aquidneck Avenue to go to school,” Santos said. “They have their hoodies on, they’re looking at their cell phones. They’re not paying attention to the road and that’s what started me in 2017 trying to get the state to put sidewalks in.”
Fisette said RIDOT has been working hard to make sure the project goes smoothly and with minimal interruptions.
She said the town and local leaders have been great to work with and everyone has been trying hard to minimize any negative impacts. Towards that end, Fisette said she gets a call every Tuesday morning from State Senator Louis P. DiPalma, who is looking for the latest with the project.
“We’ve been sensitive to those things, trying to coordinate with those entities to make sure that they still can operate, that we minimize the disruptions and still keep the contract moving and keep on target,” Fisette said.
“Moving that pavement to nighttime, that sidewalk work (to nighttime)…we know we don’t want to impact the daytime travel for tourism and also, we don’t want to impact the businesses,” she added. “We’re being mindful of that and we’ve been coordinating with businesses along the way. I’ve talked with a number of them as they’ve had concerns.”
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said Fisette has always been on top of things from Day 1.
“Lori and I talk frequently,” Brown said. “She’s been very good about staying on top of the project. Typically when I call, she’s already addressing issues that have come to our attention.”
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/8491/NYCU-AA
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