Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti, Jr. today gathered with local and state leaders to celebrate the completion of the Gano Street Realignment Project in Providence. RIDOT substantially completed the $3.2 million project late last year, eight months ahead of schedule and on budget. The project reached full completion this spring.
"This project not only corrects a traffic flow problem, but also creates new recreational opportunities for all Providence residents," Director Alviti said. "We have added to the Blackstone River Bikeway in a way that makes it much safer than the old bike route on Gano Street. And it gives bikers and walkers access to the park, to ball fields, and, in time, to a new brewery. It is truly an amenity for all people."
RIDOT reconstructed portions of India Street and Gano Street to realign and straighten the intersection, correcting a sharp curve on India Street where it met Gano Street. The old curve was a temporary traffic pattern created during construction of the I-195 Relocation/Iway and Washington Bridge Eastbound projects in the 2000s. Under RhodeWorks, RIDOT identified funding to complete the realignment.
RIDOT also created a 0.2-mile section of bikeway to replace a bike route on busy Gano Street. It connects the Blackstone River Bikeway section along the Seekonk River that RIDOT opened in 2017 with India Point Park, the Hilton Garden Inn, the new Narragansett Beer brewery, now under construction, and other India Point Park features including the Brown boathouse, ball fields, community sailing, and Providence to Newport Ferry. It allows cyclists to make a safer connection to the Redman Linear Park and the East Bay Bike Path.
The project also included a well-lit large gravel lot underneath the Washington Bridge that will provide additional parking for the bike path, nearby businesses, recreational fishing, and future events in the park. The permeable gravel surface was an environmentally-friendly choice instead of asphalt, allowing stormwater to slowly filter through the soil and limiting the impact of stormwater runoff flowing into the Seekonk River.
The Gano Street Realignment Project is made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT's ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island's transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.