Speaker Shekarchi celebrates $25M RAISE grant for Rt. 37 work
| Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick) and Rep. David Bennett (D-Dist. 20, Warwick, Cranston) joined members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation, Governor Dan McKee and transportation officials to celebrate a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant to fund multimodal improvements and infrastructure upgrades along Route 37. U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Seth Magaziner secured the $25 million in federal funds to advance the third and final phase of improvements along the most eastern portion of Route 37, a heavily-trafficked corridor linking two cities and Interstates 95 and 295. “Our federal delegation has once again stepped up to deliver vital funding for transportation projects that will benefit all Rhode Islanders, and we were proud to support the state portion of the funding needed to supplement the federal investment. This reconstruction project will not only enhance the safety for motorists on this busy corridor, but upon completion will strengthen the economic development opportunities in my home city of Warwick,” said Speaker Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick). “This new federal grant will accelerate the final phase of work RIDOT is performing on Route 37, a major east-west corridor in the Providence metropolitan area. Thanks to Senators Reed and Whitehouse, as well as Congressman Magaziner, we have received more than $66 million in grants to right size this important roadway. Combined with other federal funds and matching Rhode Island state funds, this $100 million dollar project will complete a $261 million dollar investment to finalize the transformation of Route 37 across three projects. We’re already starting the planning process to initiate this final phase, which will result in a significant economic boom to Rhode Island,” said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. Work will include the major rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of 8 bridges. The new federal funds will also help right-size sections of the road, replace an overbuilt loop-ramp with an at-grade interchange, and eliminate redundant infrastructure to open up land for future economic development. RIDOT will also build a new structure for high-capacity transit, install Transit Signal Priority (TSP) at approximately eight locations and queue jump lanes for buses, and construct a new, separated bicycle path. RIDOT is already working to rebuild or refurbish 21 bridges along the Route 37 corridor through Phases 1 and 2 of its planned Route 37 work. This latest award is part of a larger plan for the corridor that includes Route 37 and I-295 interchange improvements to address the safety, congestion, and weaving concerns in the interchange area and along I-295 North up to Route 6. Federal funding will cover about eighty percent of the $164.5 million project costs for Phase 1 and 2, including two previous TIGER/BUILD awards that totaled $41 million. The new $25 million announced today will go toward the third and final phase of Route 37 work, which is estimated to cost about $100 million. Congress made $1.5 billion in RAISE grant funding available this year for the U.S. Department of Transportation to award to competitive projects nationwide in 2023. RAISE grants help communities across the country carry out projects “with significant local or regional impact.” |