As part of its ongoing project for safety improvements where Pawtucket Avenue meets Pleasant Street in East Providence, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will close the intersection on weekdays for resurfacing work starting on Monday, October 19.
The closures will take place Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the road open for all traffic after 4 p.m. each day and on weekends and holidays. RIDOT expects the weekday closures to last approximately two weeks, ending in late October.
RIDOT will sign two detour routes motorists can use. Those driving on Pawtucket Avenue can use Newman Avenue, North Broadway and Centre Street to get around the closed intersection. Drivers closer to the Massachusetts border can use Route 44, Arcade Avenue and Newman Avenue. Local traffic will be permitted past the intersections of Pawtucket Avenue and Centre Street, Fall River Avenue and Route 44, Pleasant Street and Ledge Road, Newman Avenue and Greenwood Avenue, and Newman Avenue and Pawtucket Avenue. A detour map is available at www.ridot.net/DetourMaps.
The Department is using a process called pavement reclamation in which the base of the roadway is reconstructed to provide a long-lasting repair. Additionally, RIDOT reconfigured the intersection to make it safer, removing a number of confusing islands and converting it into a more conventional T style intersection. A new traffic signal was installed, along with pedestrian crossing features, and ramps at crosswalks were upgraded to meet ADA standards.
Work at this intersection is part of a larger project to address safety concerns at 14 intersections in 11 communities for $3.2 million. The pavement reclamation represents the final task for work at this intersection and the entire project will be done in summer 2021.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
Repairs to the Pawtucket Avenue and Pleasant Street intersection were 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.