RIDOT to pay $750K to get out of Wickford Junction deal

December 11, 2015 1:37 pm

By The Associated Press

news@ab6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ The Rhode Island Department of Transportation says it will pay $750,000 by next summer to get out of a deal to operate an underutilized commuter rail station.

The agency had announced in August that it was taking over Wickford Junction in hopes of saving more than $375,000 each year.

The agency said Thursday it plans to extricate itself from the maintenance agreement.

It settled a lawsuit last month that was brought by a group of business entities affiliated with Robert Cioe, developer of the Wickford Junction Shopping Center and the state’s partner in building the station.

An agency spokesman says the settlement calls for the state to make two $375,000 payments to Cioe’s companies. One payment has already been made.