Toll Gate, Centerville Road roundabout opens Wednesday

Posted 8/23/16

This Wednesday the first of five new rotaries in the Apponaug Circulator Project will open. Since the project began last year the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has been phasing in new traffic patterns. As part of the opening for the

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Toll Gate, Centerville Road roundabout opens Wednesday

Posted

This Wednesday the first of five new rotaries in the Apponaug Circulator Project will open.

Since the project began last year the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has been phasing in new traffic patterns.

As part of the opening for the rotary located at the intersection of Route 117, Centerville Road and Route 115, Toll Gate Road and Gilbane Street, in front of Café Tempo, the traffic lights will be removed.

Although the roundabout will be open to motorists, there will continue to be construction underway in the area and the final version of the roundabout will not be complete until the other components are finished: for example, the new Veterans Memorial Drive Extension, which will serve nearly 25,000 vehicles each day when completed in early this fall.

Altogether the Apponaug Circulator Project is currently on budget – $71 million – and a month ahead of schedule for completion all schedules are weather-dependent and subject to change.

According to DOT roundabouts have proven to reduce fatalities by 90 percent and greatly reduce injuries and the severity of crashes. With their lower speeds, these intersections are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, older drivers and novice drivers. Roundabouts are also less expensive to operate in the long term as compared with conventional intersections since they do not have the maintenance or electricity costs associated with signalized intersections, an average savings of about $5,000 per year, per intersection.

More information on roundabouts, including tips on using roundabouts, is available at www.dot.ri.gov/roundabouts.

Learn more about the project as a whole at www.dot.ri.gov/apponaug.

Comments

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  • JohnStark

    As a frequent critic of government...anything, this project has moved along well; on budget and on time. It's a good idea that has been well executed.

    Tuesday, August 23, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear JohnStark,

    Sometimes you and I disagree but your comment today is spot on! On time - on budget. You can't ask for anything more than that. The project was 20 years in the making. The blueprints changed a bunch of times but the finished product looks pretty good.

    Cardi is to be commended. So are all the government players. Like you, I am also a frequent critic, but not today.

    Richard Corrente

    Endorsed Democrat for Mayor

    Tuesday, August 23, 2016 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    Both you guys have no clue as to what you are talking about.

    Tuesday, August 23, 2016 Report this

  • JohnStark

    captain: Please connect the dots.

    Has the project moved along at a reasonable pace?

    Is it on budget and on time?

    Is it a good idea?

    Has it been well executed?

    I'm not a contractor or builder, but this thing seems to have gone along about as well as one would hope for given the breadth of the project.

    Wednesday, August 24, 2016 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    John,

    It has not moved along at a reasonable pace. Is it on time and on budget? The completion date was moved forward early this year so on time? No. On budget? We wont know that until all of the change orders have been processed but I will let you know that as I will have access to them. Well executed? No. In the greater Boston area, the majority of this work would have been done at night as to have minimal impact on the community. Good Idea? We wont know that until it is complete and there is a traffic pattern study completed. But you havent asked about quality assurance.

    Numerous areas of the work have circumvented not only the contract specifications, but also the governing code. For instance. Setting up a concrete reprocessing plant at the foot of a neighborhood and pumping silicate into the air with no dust mitigation is a serious health hazard for the community, not to mention gross code violation. By the way, I have allof the reports.

    The contract calls for "CONTINUOUS SWEEPING" during construction. You paid for it , it has never been done to any acceptable level. The code specifically addresses uniformity of pavement and levelness for temporary areas where utility trenches or other excavation has been performed. There is no stipulation for "temporary patches. All patches must meet code which dictates no more than 1/4 inch deviation within 10 linear feet. This section of the code has been completely circumvented.

    I could go on and on but I dont like paying for services that you are not receiving. I guess because code compliance is my job I am unable to turn my back to it. Just remember my comments in a year when the cracks begin in the sidewalks, and the potholes start appearing like zits on a teenagers face. It will happen for sure. Not to mention what the plantings will look like in a year.

    Thursday, August 25, 2016 Report this