PROVIDENCE -- Jerome F. Williams, director of the state Department of Transportation, visited projo.com at noon today for an online chat, answering readers' questions about the Iway and efforts to improve traffic flow.

Williams acknowledged that the DOT's traffic modeling did not anticipate the level of congestion that has developed on Route 195 East and Route 95 South during the evening commute since the opening Sunday of an Iway connector between Route 95 North and Route 195 East.

"These models did not show the significant traffic congestion that we saw on Monday," he wrote.

For more, read the full transcript of questions and replies:

dan: anything new - pretty big mess

Jerome Williams: Each day we have seen significant improvement in travel times.

For example, on Monday travel times from Smithfield Avenue on I-95 South to Taunton Avenue I-195 East was approximately 70 minutes. Wednesday night this travel time was 35 minutes and last night it was 10 - 12 minutes. Actions we have taken have had a positive impact on travel times. Travel times were taken between the hours of 5 and 6 p.m. What is new is the opening of the South Main ramp onto the new Iway which will further improve travel times from I-95 South to I-195 East.

smartgrowth5: Thank you for your willingness to be accessible and answer questions, Director Williams. Wouldn't it be more prudent to allow drivers more time to adjust to the new traffic pattern than introduce a new traffic pattern that could possibly exacerbate the problem (referring to the accelerated opening of the new I-195E entrance ramp from the East Side)? Travel time on I-95S from Pawtucket to I-195E has improved by 13 minutes in 2 days. Shouldn't we expect continued improvement as long as motorists follow alternate routes?

Jerome Williams: We have seen significant improvement every day from Tuesday on. We still have excess capacity on the new Iway and we are moving a portion of the traffic off the old I-195 to the Iway to further balance the traffic volumes. This is really a modification to the existing traffic pattern. We appreciate that you have been tracking this and have noticed the improvement.

joe: During the design phase of this project, the contract documents usually specifiy detours to be put in place during and at the end of each phase, were there any detours shown on the contract documents and if so why were the designers so off base with the traffic delays????

Jerome Williams: In preparation for the opening we conducted traffic modeling as we did when we closed the Interstate for the steel placement over the highway. These models did not show the significant traffic congestion that we saw on Monday.

As we have seen since Monday travel times have improved dramatically. For example, last night's travel times were actually better than prior to the opening of the Iway. Thank you for your question.

FCA: WILL 195 EAST between the split and the beginning of the Washington Bridge remain 2 lanes?

Jerome Williams: The old I-195 will remain in its current configuration -- two lanes.

The new Iway from I-95 north to I-195 east carries two lanes today. When the next segment opens -- I-95 south to I-195 east -- two additional lanes will be open for a total of four lanes eastbound. The final configuration will be one additional lane than the old I-195. Thank you for your question.

Jon: As someone that reverse commutes from Providence to Warwick, I have seen a big difference coming home on 95N in the evenings in terms of less delays around 195E. So thank you for that. But I do feel for my 95 South brethren. In hindsight, would it have been wiser to just wait until the I way project was completed to open it up rather than piecemeal? Or would that be too chaotic?

Jerome Williams: This is a major project with 3 major segments: I-95 North to I-195 East, I-95 South to I-195 East, and I-195 West to I-95 North and South. In order to continue the project we needed to open the first segment -- I-95 North to I-195 East -- to accommodate future construction. We would not be able to wait and open everything when the project was completed. RIDOT's Customer Service line at 401-222-2450 can give you more information. Thanks for the question and we are glad you are having a smooth commute north.

Gena: Will the new entrance that is opening today enter into the two lanes of the Iway ramp? If yes, doesn't that just move the backup to the Iway? Also, why was the Iway reduced to just one lane this morning?

Jerome Williams: The Iway was reduced to one lane this morning to accommodate the work necessary to open the new ramp this afternoon.

In regards to moving the traffic to the Iway with the opening of the ramp we are balancing the traffic volumes between the old I-195 East and the Iway. In monitoring this all week additional capacity exists on the Iway to handle this volume. We do expect slower traffic on the Iway during peak p.m. hours. Thanks for your question.

jmcdaid: Mr. Williams: While I think all Rhode Islanders are thrilled to see the beautiful IWay bridge, the recent proposed changes to the Sakonnet River bridge are troubling. Unlike the beautiful blue IWay, the towns of Portsmouth and Tiverton are getting a rusty-brown weathered steel structure.

Two questions: What is the ambient chloride level at the Sakonnet Bridge location and what wil its effect be on the lifespan of the proposed steel? And a

follow-up: Given that the problems with the existing bridge arose because of maintenance issues, do you think it is prudent to propose a material which makes it difficult to visually tell the difference between "good" weathering and dangerous corrosion?

Jerome Williams: The proposal to use weathering steel was generated from a team that included national engineering experts along with research staff from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Weathering steel has been used successfully in many bridges in similar environments. The color is not a rusty brown but will be brown in color. The bridge is being designed for at least a 75-year lifespan and will carry bridge inspections based on FHWA standards. While this is a change from the original design the bridge originally was estimated at $125 million. The latest estimate on the original design was $215 million. Given the infrastructure needs of the State we conducted a value engineering process with national experts to maintain the usability and size of the bridge while identifying options to reduce the cost without sacrificing safety.

The result of this was a $39 million reduction in cost. These savings can be used on other transportation infrastructure needs the State has. We do not have the ambient chloride level with us at this time. Please contact our Customer Service office at 401-222-2450. Thank you.

stats: I enter 195 East from Point Street/Wickenden...where is the new on ramp that we will use today?

Jerome Williams: <a href="http://www.dot.state.ri.us/traffic/images/New-On-Ramp.pdf">There is a map on RIDOT's Web site </a>that has all of the information you will need to use the new ramp. Please go to <a href="http://www.dot.state.ri.us ">www.dot.state.ri.us </a>for more information. Everything you need is on the homepage. Thank you.

Peter: It seems the new highway will have fewer downtown entrances and exits. How is that an improvement?

Jerome Williams: One of the issues we have on the old I-195 East is we have merging traffic very close to on-ramps. This leaves little room for traffic merging and impedes traffic flow. The new Iway provides extended lanes for merging and has fewer on and off-ramps resulting in improved traffic flow through the downtown Providence area. Although we have only opened the first segment of the Iway, other new ramps will be open to service downtown in the future. Thank you for your question. We appreciate it.