DOT Awards Contracts for Routes 1 and 4 Resurfacing Projects

Tourists and Rhode Islanders heading to South County beaches next summer will encounter much smoother sailing on Routes 4 and 1 thanks to a $5 million investment in a pair of resurfacing projects.

The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it has awarded contracts for the two projects, which will resurface about three-and-a-half miles of road along the two state highways that link South County to the rest of the state.

The projects reflect a focus on improving tourism-related infrastructure, according to state officials, and the popular path for summer travel will better “promote Rhode Island’s tourism industry,” according to a news release.

J.H. Lynch & Sons was awarded $2.8 million to resurface 2.5 miles of Route 4 from where the highway begins in North Kingstown to just north of the Oak Hill Road intersection.

The contractor expects to employ 84 workers for the job, which is currently underway and should be completed by the end of this year.

The last time this part of the road was resurfaced was in 1998. It serves 54,000 vehicles a day.

D’Ambra Construction landed the $1.9 million contract to resurface Route 1 from the Stedman Government Center, which houses the Department of Motor Vehicles and the McGrath Judicial Complex in South Kingstown, to Route 108 — a busy main vein that links Narragansett, the Wakefield business district and the University of Rhode Island.

Along with the resurfacing of Route 1, the associated on- and off-ramps will be resurfaced.

This stretch of road carries 40,000 cars per day and was last resurfaced in the early 1990s, the DOT said. The contractor expects to employ 50 people and work should be substantially complete before next summer.

“The condition of our roadways is an important part of our state’s economic health,” Director Peter Alviti Jr. said. “This administration has placed a high priority on developing a system that will help bring our roads and bridges into a state of good repair and providing the maintenance that is necessary to keep them that way. Projects like this can go a long way toward turning around Rhode Island’s reputation as a sub-par transportation state.”

The DOT said that work was scheduled to avoid the busy summer travel season. Two lanes in both directions must remain open on Route 4 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. through September.

Additionally, all lanes will be open from Friday night through Sunday night.

On Route 1, all lanes will be open during “peak travel times” though there will be shoulder work and temporary closures on occasion for certain operations.