U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff will join Governor Lincoln Chafee, Senator Jack Reed and Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael Lewis for the grand opening of the Wickford Junction Train Station and Garage on Monday, April 23, 2012 at the new facility at 1011 Ten Rod Road in North Kingstown, RI.
Prior to the North Kingstown festivities, a special ceremonial Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) train will travel from Providence Station to the InterLink at T.F. Green Airport and onto Wickford Junction. This train is scheduled to leave Providence at 10:15 a.m. and arrive in Wickford at 10:50 a.m.
The event will begin at the new train station at 11:00 a.m., with a speaking program at 11:30 a.m.
The Wickford Junction Train Station and Garage was designed and built through a Public/Private Partnership with RIDOT and the developers of Wickford Junction. The Station is a critical component of South County Commuter Rail expansion and the service it provides was designed to help alleviate peak hour congestion by getting vehicles off the highway, specifically the Route 4/I-95 corridor. Construction started in September 2010, and the project was completed in March 2012 through a $25 million contract with Manafort Brothers, Inc.