Letter: State prepared badly for bridge work traffic mess

Posted 11/16/17

To the editor:

Many people have been asking "Who or what is responsible for the horrible traffic delays throughout the entire state of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts for the last …

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Letter: State prepared badly for bridge work traffic mess

Posted

To the editor:

Many people have been asking "Who or what is responsible for the horrible traffic delays throughout the entire state of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts for the last several months?” but few have the correct answer. Normal two lane travel in each direction of the Newport/Pell Bridge resumed on Friday, Nov. 10, ending significant bridge delays on the bridge that have plagued all travelers in Rhode Island for the majority of the period from May 16 to November 10 of this year, while sections of bridge decking were removed and replaced

During this bridge decking work, two lane bridge traffic was decreased to one lane and significantly impacted much of the traffic heading to and from the Newport/Pell Bridge area; Because of the delays, many drivers changed their routes over the Newport Bridge in favor of travel over the Mount Hope Bridge, Sakonnet Bridge, and Braga Bridge, causing major delays of travel through Aquidneck Island and the East Bay area.

These Newport/Pell Bridge delays rippled throughout the entire state of Rhode Island and into southeastern Massachusetts.

Travelers in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts (and employers who have found many tardy employees over the last several months) should contact RITBA (Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority) Executive Director,Buddy Croft, 1 East Shore Road, PO Box 437 Jamestown, e-mail buddy@ripta.org, and Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Director Peter Alviti, 2 Capitol Hill, Providence Rhode Island 02903, (401) 222 2481, e-mail peter.alviti@dot.ri.gov and voice their displeasure at the lack of any effective means of ameliorating the severe disruptions to traffic flow that resulted.

Many states have employed very successful means for ameliorating traffic flow. disruptions. However, it appears that the only means that the RI DOT and RITBA have used are the numerous suggestions and signs indicating “Seek alternative routes.” That advice is very difficult to employ in a state with many bridges that is referred to as "The Ocean State.” With respect to the Newport/Pell Bridge, that suggestion only succeeded in creating severe traffic delays throughout the state.

The effective means of ameliorating severe disruptions to traffic in other states include:

night work; extending work to 16 or 24 hours per day; police and/or construction traffic lights with special timing to increase average speed from 4 mph to 20 mph when merging two lanes; physical separation of lanes; No Passing and No Lane Changes signs; police and/or camera monitoring of intersections and mergers (with increased fines); and police control of traffic lights at bottleneck positions during rush hour, etc.

Roger A. Bennis

Tiverton

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