Rep. Carson Urges Newport Residents to Comment on Pell Bridge Ramp Design

Rep. Carson Urges Newport Residents to Comment on Pell Bridge Ramp Design

Representative Lauren Carson is urging Newport residents to submit comments on the new Pell Bridge ramp design.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is currently accepting comments on the project’s draft environmental assessment.

“This project is probably the single biggest redevelopment projects on Aquidneck Island in the last 50 years. It will significantly change the way people get around Newport and open up land for redevelopment. It will profoundly change the way drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists move around our community. This has an impact on everyone in Newport, so I urge everyone to look at the plans and send the state their thoughts. Now is the time to make your opinion heard,” said Carson.

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RIDOT requests public comment on the draft environmental assessment be submitted by December 23.

Pell Bridge Project

The project is intended to reduce congestion and backup on the Pell Bridge, which serves as the main point of entry to Newport, bringing drivers on Route 138 across Narragansett Bay from Jamestown into the City. It is also intended to reduce traffic downtown; improve bicycle, pedestrian and public transit opportunities; better connect downtown to the North End for all road users, and spur economic development by creating an “Innovation Hub.”

According to the RIDOT, construction is expected to begin in spring 2020.

The assessment can be viewed online, where there is also a link to submit comments electronically. 

Comments can also be submitted by mail to David Fish, Administrator of Project Management, Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Two Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02903.

The complete proposal can be viewed in Newport at City Hall, 43 Broadway; the Newport Public Library, 300 Spring Street; and the Florence Gray Center, 1 York St.