| 1.
The Olneyvillle Square Project was built in the early 1950's to
provide a bypass to Olneyville Square.
2.
The Huntington Expressway (Route 10) was built in the late 1950's
to connect the Olneyville bypass to Reservoir Avenue (Route 2).
3.
The Route 6 Expressway (formerly RI Route 195) was built in the
late 1960's to provide direct access to the Providence area from
the western part of Rhode Island.
4.
The Route 6 Connector was constructed in the late 1970's to extend
Route 6 to Dean Street near downtown Providence.
Because
most of this interchange was built in the 1950's and 1960's, deficiencies
exist including substandard horizontal and vertical geometry, weaving
sections, and acceleration/deceleration lanes. Many of the bridges
within the interchange have deteriorated beyond their usable life
and have been rehabilitated for the short term. The northbound RI
Route 10 to westbound US Route 6 movement was not part of the initial
interchange construction and does not exist today.
In
February of 1996 it was decided that short-term bridge improvements
should be made and an Environmental Evaluation was completed. Bridge
inspections were conducted early in 1997, resulting in two bridge
rehabilitation contracts for replacement of the existing bridge
joints and for temporary shoring and repairs.
In
the spring of 1999, an interim resurfacing project was designed
for the interchange. The resurfacing contract documents were completed
in the fall of 1999 and the project was completed during the 2000
construction season.
Bridge
inspections were conducted again in the spring of 2003 and as a
result, another bridge rehabilitation contract for temporary shoring
and repairs was advertised in the fall of 2003 and completed in
2004.
An
Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared and the Record
of Decision was signed in June
2006.
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