When it rains heavily, Schoolhouse Road in Warren floods. In the same area, both Schoolhouse Road and Birch Swamp Road have severely deteriorated pavement. Both of these issues and more will be addressed by a $6 million pavement reclamation and reconstruction project that started on August 6, 2021.
Working in partnership with the town of Warren and the Bristol County Water Authority, RIDOT will not only rebuild the two roads, but also install two large culverts to deal with the flooding and raise the elevation of the road. These two measures will accommodate the Bristol Water Authority’s removal of the dam from the Kickemuit River that created the Upper Kickemuit Reservoir also known as the Warren Reservoir.
With the dam removed, the river will flow freely which will reduce stagnant conditions and increase tidal flushing. That, in turn, will improve water quality and provide a habitat for a wide variety of fish and wildlife. The flushing will restore the natural ecosystem and enable salt marsh restoration for the Kickemuit River area.
The paving rehabilitation part of this project includes a 2.6 mile, two-land suburban/rural corridor. Of the 2.6 miles, about 2.4 miles will be structurally reclaimed to repair the worn out and failed base problems under the existing asphalt. The culvert reconstruction accounts for the remaining 0.2 mile segment.
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The road remains closed as we continue building the culvert’s retaining walls. Once complete, grading and drainage will be underway. |
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