Ongoing construction causes driving nightmare at Seekonk intersection

April 5, 2018 11:16 pm

ABC6 News

By John Krinjak

Email: jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

SEEKONK, Mass. (WLNE) — It’s a traffic tie-up that never seems to end.

"Yeah, it’s been this way for a while," said Wendy Lynn of Rehoboth. "A little chaotic."

The intersection of Fall River Avenue, Arcade Avenue and Mill Road has been a construction site for three years.

Crews are realigning arcade ave to make for an easier turn, adding a traffic light and sidewalks. and fixing a culvert.

"It’s poor planning," said Mike Wilkinson of Barrington. "It’s like the 10 years it took to build the bridges in Barrington, it’s taking the same amount of time to just put a curve together."

Businesses like the Old Grist Mill Tavern say this ongoing construction is really digging into their bottom line.

"It hurts in the pocket, believe me," said Grist Mill assistant manager James Jones. He says it’s cost them about half their lunch business

"People aren’t going to sit in traffic on their lunch break. They’re going to go somewhere that’s more accessible," said Jones.

And on Thursday, things went from bad to worse, with Arcade Avenue shut down in both directions, then only open one way.

"We had no idea. We came into work this morning with the road closed," said Jones. "We were really in jeopardy of not having guests be able to get into our lot. We had a big event today, so the stress level was definitely high."

Seekonk Police stepped in to change the traffic pattern, and help folks get to the restaurant.

But aside from the road work itself, some motorists say their fellow drivers aren’t exactly helping the situation.

"People pause, hesitate and everything because of the traffic pattern. They are slowing down way more than they have to," said one driver.

"If they use their turn signals on the oncoming traffic then the people turning would know whether they could go out in front of their car or not, but then again, that’s Rhode Island drivers. Oh wait, we’re in Massachusetts now," said Wilkinson.

This project is slated to be done this summer, but just down the street at County Street and Fall River Avenue, a similar project is slated to start next spring.