The Rhode Island Department of Transportation will go out to bid on a design-build contract to reconstruct the Routes 6 and 10 interchange in Providence, with the hope of completing construction in four years. Some will remember what might have been.
"Warning that further delay could put Rhode Islanders' safety at risk, Governor Raimondo Wednesday ordered a fast-tracked reconstruction of the Routes 6 and 10 interchange, knocking back dreams of an alternative to the maligned highway system," reports Patrick Anderson.
"The order scraps a $595-million capped highway design the R.I. Department of Transportation unveiled in March and called an 'innovative' approach indicative of a 'new DOT' that would help knit disconnected neighborhoods back together while keeping commuters moving," according to Anderson.
A much more progressive version of the plan, including capping the highway with parks, bike paths, new development, and potentially a mass transit line in the median, was announced in March. Two developments over the summer, however, scuttled those ambitions. The article includes more of the details delivered in a statement by Gov. Raimondo, as well as the unhappy responses from groups advocating for the previous, alternative plan.
FULL STORY: State to fast-track Route 6-10 connector project, abandon surface boulevard + poll
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