Drivers react to emergency construction of 6/10 connector
By Bianca Buono
bbuono@abc6.com
@BBuonoABC6
One day after Governor Gina Raimondo announced an emergency bridge replacement for the 6/10 connector, some of the estimated 100,000 drivers that use it everyday are now wondering what their future commute will look like. The $400 million construction project will take four years to complete.
"You never know what’s going to happen in the four years,” said Kelly Martis of Providence.
"I wouldn’t care to do it. I’d avoid it after seeing the pictures,” said Hank Coleman of Rehoboth.
The pictures he’s referring to show the Huntington Avenue Viaduct Bridge, the area that’s in the worst shape.
In the coming months, RIDOT will work to temporarily fix it, but Director Peter Alviti says drivers should consider the span safe to drive on for now.
"We’re constantly monitoring their condition. We always keep them safe to the point that long before we expect any problems to occur, we’ll be out there either doing a fix or taking whatever measures we have,” said Alviti.
Drivers are also wondering what’s going to happen to the area of the connector during the four years of construction.
"It’s going to be a problem with all of the traffic,” Martis said.
"There will be inconvenience but that is a small price to pay because we need things to be safe. I can’t have bridges falling down,” said Governor Gina Raimondo.
Alviti says RIDOT will be frequently inspecting the bridges. They expect to hire a designer and builder for the massive project by the end of the year so they can start construction next summer.
© WLNE-TV 2016
