A Right Turn For The Holiday Season

Right turn lanes for eastbound traffic on Division Street into East Greenwich Marketplace at 1000 Division, and onto Route 4, have been paved, striped and are in use.

The work, another step in alleviating the traffic crunch at the intersection of Route 2 and Division, was scheduled for completion just before Thanksgiving. Because of heavy holiday traffic it was delayed a few days to avoid making the siituation worse.

At noon on Dec. 2, traffic seemed to be flowing smoothly. The true test of how much the turn lanes are helping comes during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

Before work started, town manager Bill Sequino said a big reason for the jam ups at the intersection is heavy southbound traffic on Route 2 turning left on Division Street to get to southbound Route 4.

As construction neared completion he said he felt the turn lanes would work as they were intended.

While the project didn't look all that big, it cost $1.9 million according to a sign posted at the site. 

In addition to the actual road construction, the job included a new underground electric feeder, put in place for National Grid.

Division is a state-owned road so the work was overseen by the Department of Transportation, with the local portion paid for by New England Tech as part of an agreement worked out with the town prior to the school's move to Division.

Traffic at the site is further controlled with a traffic light at the entrance to East Greenwich Marketplace off Route 2. That light provides another access to New England Tech on Fairgrounds Way and accommodates traffic for the new CVS store. It was paid for by the store's developer.

Still to come in the traffic improvement effort is a roundabout on Division, west of the Route 2 intersection. That work is scheduled for 2012.