Displaced Johnston residents wait for temporary road off Belfield Drive after flooding evacuation

JOHNSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — Displaced Johnston residents are still waiting for a temporary road connecting Belfield Drive to the highway that was supposed to be built on Monday.

Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. and town officials came to the decision to issue a mandatory evacuation last Friday, as more rain was on the way on top of the existing floodwater, making parts of the town look like a lake.

The original plan was to come back Monday and build a temporary road connecting Belfield Drive to Interstate 295 — residents were still waiting as of Wednesday morning.

About thirty people live in the area.

They have been staying at temporary living arrangements, including Courtyard by Marriott in Lincoln.

The temporary road will give residents access to Interstate 295 from Belfield Drive. For some, it will allow access to their own homes for the first time since the evacuation order.

ABC 6 News spoke with a Johnston resident on Monday who went to Belfield Drive to check on his son’s house, worried that the pipes will freeze.

“We had to park on the side of 295, jump over a fence, cut through a river, and we made our way down to the end of the road,” David Pearce said.

The owner of Anthony’s Oil, Anthony Amalfitano, said he was working with the town to deliver oil to those without heat in the area.

Amalfitano said he needs the temporary road as soon as possible to get oil to the evacuated homes.

“Hopefully, they approve it, so we can get down here to get these people heat, because we need it,” Amalfitano said. “The pipes will freeze, homes will be destroyed. They need the heat.”