East Providence school district changes bus routes amid Washington Bridge traffic

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Given the Washington Bridge traffic, getting children to class in East Providence is requiring some creativity.

During Tuesday night’s East Providence school committee meeting, Superintendent Dr. Sandra Forand said the biggest impact from the closure on the bridge is the loss of education time.

If a bus is late to school due to traffic, students could miss out on valuable learning.

However, Forand said bus arrival times in the morning and evening have improved since the initial closure, but not without some effort.

Forand said the department made adjustments to bus routes, taking some children off busses, adding a van to the district to keep them from having to cross the city.

The busses that are late to school are typically those that have to cross Pawtucket Avenue and Warren Avenue, as well as Broadway and Warren, near the highway entrance ramps.

“Things have gotten much better than the initial closure,” Forand said. “And we’re pretty close to having most of our routes on time, except for when there is an accident on the bridge or some other time of delay.”

Another point of discussion during Tuesday’s meeting was the cost.

The district has spent over $10,000 so far in overtime for drivers and the cost of the additional van, but the school committee is working to get that reimbursed.

Another worry is the stress traffic is having on the school staff, adding it could be difficult to hire people from out of town not willing to make the commute.