Richmond?

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Richmond’s Town Council asked RIDOT to build its rest stop in their town, at Exit 3. Richmond wants the traffic to get off the highway and stop at its businesses.

There are negotiations that’ll go with that, of course. RIDOT has stated that they’re researching it, but Hopkinton is still the intended build site.

I maintain that the plan is not good for RI at either location, but I don’t have much of a voice in Richmond.

I will agree that Exit 3 is a better location for such a project, but it’s not nearly as good a location as Pawtucket or East Providence. That said, here are a few advantages to building in Richmond:

  • It intersects with 138 traffic headed to/from Newport and URI.
  • It puts motorists in Richmond where there are retail options for them to use.
  • It’d be directly adjacent to the existing welcome center, so facility and maintenance would presumably be more cheaper and more accessible.

RIDOT remains silent, however. There is nothing on their website about this plan. The Governor is equally silent. A dialog in this State is sorely needed.

The State knows that a rest area doesn’t make sense. Let’s not waste $12 million on building a new rest stop. Contact your representatives and tell them to stop plans to build their rest stop.

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