The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has initiated a request-for-qualifications (RFQ) process to solicit bids for the design and build of the replacement for the Route 6/10 interchange in Providence.
RIDOT says the project has been “sitting on the drawing board for more than 30 years.”
The project offers a new design Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza unveiled in December that “preserves project budget and timeline, improves regional traffic flow, helps to reconnect surrounding neighborhoods, creates miles of new bike paths and makes acres of new land available for development.”
The state’s RhodeWorks program is making $400 million available to replace nine bridges in the interchange, seven of which are structurally deficient.
RIDOT expects construction to begin in this fall and will create 1,700 direct job years.
Highlights of the project the department identifies include:
Direct Connection from Route 10 North onto Route 6 West: Road design includes the “missing move” connecting Route 10 North to Route 6 West – improving regional traffic flow and reducing traffic congestion in Olneyville.
