Spring Street Finally Close to Getting Repaved

Spring Street is one of the ugliest when it comes to the condition of the old pavement in the Broadway area.

Slowly but surely, previously horrid stretches of Broadway and surrounding streets have been repaved all through the summer. Now, the ongoing Broadway Streetscape project finally gets to removing pavement on Spring Street and the lower portion of Broadway later this month.

The state Department of Transportation said in a news release that next week, drainage installation will continue on the west side of the project from Marlborough Street to Equality Park.

The next week, pavement on Spring Street will finally be removed and new gravel will be installed in the area of Spring Street and Broadway moving north toward Equality Park.

Fresh pavement will start getting put down in early October, the DOT said.

During these operations, there will be significant parking restrictions between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Parking will be restored by the end of each work day but downtown Broadway could be tough to get in and out of.

Daily closures of Spring Street from Bull Street to Broadway are also possible during the work day, with the detours removed by the end of the day.

The DOT is in the process of rebuilding the roadway and overhauling sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure as part of the Broadway Streetscape Project — a major revamp of the busy mixed-use corridor that has been in the planning stages for years.

Among the changes will be widened sidewalks in some areas, new landscaping, light fixtures, road striping, signals and a switch from parallel to head-in parking in areas that aren’t head-in already.

Cardi Corporation holds the $5.8 million contract.

Funding for the project was made possible through federal sources, including Safe Routes to School, in addition to the Rhode Island Municipal Road and Bridge Revolving Fund.

A detour map can be found HERE.

Photo: Rhode Island Department of Transportation