The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced that it will be restriping a short section of Route 6A (Hartford Avenue) in Johnston this week. For .75 miles from the Route 6 interchange to the area of 1300 Hartford Road, close to BJs Wholesale Club, RIDOT will restripe the road to provide one lane of travel in each direction and install a center turning lane. The traffic pattern change is scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, Wednesday, December 1, 2010.
The Department is restriping this section of Hartford Avenue to increase pedestrian safety, particularly in the area of the Tri-Town Community Action Agency, a large social services center on Hartford Avenue. A new crosswalk will be installed at the Tri-Town center, making it safer for patrons to cross Hartford Avenue from the organization’s parking lot across the street.
RIDOT has reviewed traffic counts on Hartford Avenue and concluded that the restriping will not have an adverse impact on traffic. In other areas where a four-lane road has been restriped to three lanes, speeds and crash rates have markedly dropped. Additionally, crossing a road with fewer lanes of traffic is easier and safer for pedestrians.
All schedules are weather-dependent and subject to change.
Motorists with questions can contact RIDOT’s Customer Service office at 401-222-2450 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional information will be available on RIDOT’s website (www.dot.ri.gov) and its social media sites on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Blogger.
Contact: Charles St. Martin 401-222-1362 x4007