ProJo: Feds reject $175-million grant for 6-10 interchange project – City Workshop Scheduled on July 19, 2016

Plans to rebuild Routes 6 and 10 were dealt a setback Friday as Rhode Island’s bid for a $175-million federal grant for the project was passed over, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation said.
[…]
“While we are disappointed that we did not receive the FASTLANE grant funding for the Route 6-10 Interchange project, we remain committed to moving this long-delayed project forward,” said DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. in the release. “RIDOT will move quickly to evaluate our options to tackle this problem and present a recommendation for next steps.”
[…]
The state and its consultants are refining a design for the 6/10 project, which is estimated to cost $959 million, in anticipation of seeking federal environmental approval for construction.

– The Providence Journal

ONE BILLION DOLLARS is just a kookoo bananas amount of money for a highway interchange.

In other 6/10 news, the City is hosting a public workshop on the redesign of the 6/10 interchange next ~~Tuesday, July 19th~~.

[box style=”alert”]The City has postponed this workshop and not announced a new date yet.[/alert]

Public Workshop: Redesigning the 6-10 Connector

[alert type=”muted”]Tuesday, July 19 at 6 PM
Asa Messer Elementary School
1655 Westminster Street, Providence, RI[/alert]

The City of Providence is launching a public process to bring community members and decision-makers together to craft a design proposal for the 6-10 Connector, a portion of state highway that bifurcates numerous Providence neighborhoods including Olneyville, West End, Federal Hill, Silver Lake, Hartford, Valley, and Smith Hill.

The 6-10 Connector and portions of routes 6 and 10 are currently in disrepair and will soon be replaced. Through the summer and fall of 2016, the City will engage the neighborhoods impacted by this project in a meaningful public process that will result in a design proposal to improve this section of infrastructure while also enhancing alternative modes of transportation, repairing connections between the neighborhoods along the corridor, reducing long-term maintenance costs, alleviating traffic congestion, and reclaiming excess highway land to create redevelopment opportunities.

The City’s design process kicks off with a public workshop on July 19, 6:00 – 8:30 at the Asa Messer School (1655 Westminster St). For more information, connect with the City of Providence Department of Planning and Development on Twitter (@ProvPlanning) and Facebook using #610Connector, and online at www.providenceri.com/planning.

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