A $1.4-million project will address the deep ruts in the 10-year-old asphalt at Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence.

The Providence Journal Kathy Borchers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Downtown bus stops will be relocated as parts of Kennedy Plaza are closed for a month-long repaving project starting Oct. 31.

The $1.4-million project, which is funded partly by federal stimulus dollars, will address deep ruts in the less than 10-year-old asphalt caused by constant bus travel, according to the deputy general manager of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, Henry S. Kinch.

RIPTA will host an informational meeting on the project Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, at 30 Exchange Terrace.

The project represents the first major work on the plaza since the $9.5-million renovation in 2002 that brought period-style lampposts, a new bus station and bus stops to the site.

Bounded by City Hall, the city ice rink, the Biltmore Hotel and Burnside Park, Kennedy Plaza is RIPTA’s main bus depot and the downtown terminal for intercity bus companies such as Greyhound. Nearly 40,000 riders a day pass through the plaza and about 3,500 bus trips start or end there, according to RIPTA.

Temporary bus and trolley stops will be set up within walking distance of the plaza on Exchange Terrance, Fountain, Sabin, Eddy and Steeple streets. The terminal office (where passengers can buy tickets for RIPTA, Peter Pan and Greyhound) will remain open throughout the process, as will lanes for daily commuter traffic along Dorrance, Exchange, Fulton and Washington streets.

Work will close plaza roads to non-bus commuters in the early morning hours from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m., but otherwise there will be no changes to traffic patterns downtown during the repaving, said Kinch.

Peter Pan and Greyhound bus stops will be relocated near the Westin Hotel’s main entry, along West Exchange Street. The transit authority anticipates “minimal” delays for bus riders, Kinch added.

The work, which is to finish Nov. 26, is needed because bus lanes along Fulton and Washington streets have deep depressions that are damaging the undersides of the buses.

According to Kinch, the most recent batch of asphalt laid down on the roads –– during the 2002 renovations –– was of poor quality. The weight of the buses has, over time, formed wheel-sized sinkholes in the pavement, he said.

J.H. Lynch & Sons, of Cumberland, was awarded the paving contract. RIPTA will also be upgrading communications systems and fixing manholes, curbs and parts of bus platforms during the process.

The repaving is being fully funded by federal money, some of which is coming through President Obama’s economic stimulus plan.

RIPTA has been saving portions of its annual Federal Transit Administration allotment over the years in anticipation of the work. But $500,000 of the project will come from RIPTA’s $37.3-million federal stimulus grant, which was approved in September.

City Director of Operations Alix Ogden says the repaving plan does not affect the city’s long-term vision for Kennedy Plaza, which has a reputation for attracting rowdy crowds of teens when school lets out and for encouraging homeless and substance abusers to loiter in Burnside Park.

Mayor David N. Cicilline has advocated for the creation of a streetcar system and decentralizing the public bus system. He’s called for making Kennedy Plaza –– known for much of its 160-year history as Exchange Place –– less a transit hub and more a public square type of destination.

Recent efforts by the city, RIPTA and local civic groups have been focused on that goal. They have included a summer concert series in Burnside Park; a weekly farmer’s market, food vendors and merchant stalls along Washington Street; and orange umbrellas, tables and chairs around the stone patio in front of the bus terminal building.

Kennedy Plaza “was built with federal transportation dollars, and so it is going to continue to have a transportation function,” said Ogden. “But with so many people coming through it, it makes sense to provide them with activities that engage them in the downtown.”

For a detailed map of the temporary bus and trolley stops, visit www.ripta.com or, beginning Oct. 26, look for RIPTA staff stationed in Kennedy Plaza specifically to answer questions about the changes.

pmarcelo@projo.com