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05/06/2008

Ask RIDOT: Henderson Bridge is subject of two more concerns
Q: On April 9, you answered a question about the Henderson Bridge’s signage. I believe, however, that there are two questions concerning the bridge that should be addressed. First, one of the signs just east of the bridge has lost a panel. Secondly, during storms, a lot of water collects at the juncture of Waterman Street and the approach to the bridge when heading east. The overflow drain cannot handle the amount of water that comes downhill from a few blocks to the west. I hope that DOT can improve the drainage in this area.

04/29/2008

Ask RIDOT: Street-sign rules vary within Rhode Island
Q. I’ve traveled on Route 136 in Bristol, but have not seen a Metacom Avenue sign. There are only two somewhat hidden or obscurde ones in Warren. Also, street signs in Bristol are smal,l unlike in Warren. Isn’t there a law that signs should be a certain size so passing motorists have a chance to see them? A further inconvenience about street signs in most communities is that the name of the street is only mentioned once, usually at a busy intersection where the driver is concentrating on the traffic. For main or secondary arteries and roads, street names should be repeated two or three times and use large signs.

04/22/2008

Ask RIDOT: What do sensors detect?
Q: There were recent questions and answers about traffic-light sensors embedded in the road. What do sensors actually detect? Magnetics? Weight? Vibration?

04/08/2008

Ask RIDOT: Route 195 sign on bridge is confusing
Q: While proceeding east on the Henderson Bridge there is a sign for I-195 East that confuses me. Do I turn at the first exit even though the sign seems to be pointing forward to South Broadway straight ahead? How should I proceed? I usually enter I-195 E from Route 6. Please set me in the right direction.

04/01/2008

Ask RIDOT: DOT will study that confusing intersection in Lincoln
Q. My question concerns the intersection of Route 126 (Old River Road) and Route 116 (George Washington Highway) in Lincoln, adjacent to the Lincoln High School. The lane configuration on the north side of Old River Road is odd, essentially funneling all traffic into three single-car length lanes (heading straight, right or left) to cross over or turn onto Route 116. On the opposite side, there are two lanes facing the traffic light, one to turn left and one to go straight across. The problem is that when the light turns green, you end up with all five lanes of traffic at cross-purposes. Traffic backs up on the north side of Old River Road towards the Town Hall. Only a few cars make it through any one cycle. Why do all five lanes have the green light at the same time? Can something be done about this?

03/25/2008

Ask RIDOT: Broken East Greenwich pavement detector on the to do list
Q. On Division Street (East Greenwich) at the I-95 northbound access road, there is a traffic light to allow eastbound cars to make a left turn onto that access road. The light turns red for westbound Division Street traffic even though there are no cars headed east to make the aforementioned left turn. Can something be done to correct the situation?

02/26/2008

Ask RIDOT: Courting change in highway signs for Hartford
Q. I was wondering why the signs on Route 95 in Providence, near Providence Place mall and on Route 195 leading to Johnston all say “Hartford Ct.” instead of “Hartford CT.” Isn’t “Ct.” the abbreviation for Court, not Connecticut?

02/12/2008

Ask RIDOT: New sign on the way to mark 95 in Exeter
Q: Could you please check on a sign issue for me? The sign for I-95 on Route 3 in Exeter heading north is in a bad location. The sign is posted on the right-hand side of the road across from where you are to turn left onto Route 102 to get onto I-95. By the time drivers see the sign, they have passed the turn for I-95. In the spring and summer, tree limbs and leaves hide the sign. The problem is most people traveling on Route 3 miss the left turn and end up making a U-turn. The other problem is people taking a left up the wrong way. It is a Y-shaped intersection on Route 102.

02/05/2008

Ask RIDOT: No restrictions for school buses on interstate
Dana Alexander Nolfe, chief public affairs officer for the state Department of Transportation, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state roads and other state transportation matters. The DOT is responsible for the state’s transportation infrastructure, which includes highways, bridges, traffic signals and bikeways.

01/29/2008

Ask RIDOT: West Davisville Road exit will get better when it’s finished
Q. Are there any plans to add signs to the top of the exit ramp to West Davisville on Route 403 East in North Kingstown (Quonset Point)? Right now traffic is moving slowly in that area because it is coming from Davisville Road, but I could see a time after the new highway is in use when drivers traveling 55 mph round the corner under the Davisville Road overpass, stay in the right lane, and accidentally proceed up that exit. A few more large, well-placed signs warning of the abrupt ending to the road may be helpful.

01/22/2008

Ask RIDOT: Barrels will go back on Route 146
Q. I live in Rhode Island and travel every day to Worcester on Route 146 North. Recently, the section of Route 146 North/South at the Forestdale exits in North Smithfield area have had signs installed that read “under construction” and “lane change,” etc. Before the first snowstorm this year, the travel lanes had construction barrels and road markings such as the solid lines and lane shifts. Since the snowstorm, the barrels have not been placed back, yet the lines are still there and it is confusing to motorists traveling in both directions. Some motorists use the breakdown lane as directed by the lane shifts while others who travel the road every day continue in the so-called construction lane. Can you replace the barrels for construction or cover over the yellow solid lines that designate construction lanes? Thanks.

01/15/2008

Ask RIDOT: Good idea, we’ll revise the sign on Route 1
Q. Why can’t you find the sign, Route 108/Point Judith/Scarborough, on Route 1 North in South Kingstown like you can on the Route 1 South side? I have given many out-of-state motorists instructions from Snug Harbor and Jerusalem who are looking to take the ferry to Point Judith, Scarborough, or the Block Island Ferry. Giving them directions, I would tell them to go back to Route 1 and go north to the Route 108 Point Judith/Narragansett exit. A Route 108 sign needs to be added to the exit sign on the north side of the highway.

01/09/2008

Ask RIDOT: Reflector tags not needed
Q: I was wondering why there are no yellow reflective tags installed on the Jersey barrier along I-95 South in front of the Providence Place mall section of the highway.

12/26/2007

Ask RIDOT: That ‘exit only’ sign doesn’t mean you can’t reenter I-95
Q. Why does the sign for the I-95 South Exit 2 in Hopkinton read “Exit Only” when clearly a vehicle may reenter I-95 in either the north- or south-bound directions?

12/18/2007

Ask RIDOT: Motorcyclists shouldn’t ignore red light, even if it isn’t changing
Q. I’m a motorcycle rider and have noticed over time some of the vehicle detectors at various intersections do not detect motorcycles and I end up sitting waiting and eventually proceeding through a red light. My question is, is it legal to treat the red light the same as a stop sign when it does not change because of the motorcycle, but works fine for automobiles?

12/11/2007

Ask RIDOT: Drivers are not yielding properly onto Route 37
Q. Could you look into an issue regarding signs for me? People getting onto Route 37 East from Natick Avenue, in western Cranston, are supposed to yield to those who have just taken a left to get onto the same ramp. I have almost been hit there several times because the drivers fail to obey the yield sign. Could the current sign be replaced with a larger one, or possibly several yield signs, to get the point across to them? I would appreciate you looking into this. Also, are there any plans to put a traffic light at the intersection of Natick Avenue and Phenix Avenue?

12/04/2007

Ask RIDOT: Faded Route 295 signs in Smithfield will be replaced
Q. There are some sign on Route 44 at the I-295 on-ramp in Smithfield that need to be replaced. The sign for I-295 is faded. Is the state responsible for these signs or is the Town of Smithfield? I did see that a lot of new signs were being replaced on I-295 and on Route 4.

11/13/2007

Ask RIDOT: Niantic Avenue and Cranston Street traffic light is coming
Q. Are there any plans to install a traffic light at the intersection of Niantic Avenue and Cranston Street? There always seems to be a long line of cars attempting to turn left on to Cranston Street after exiting Route 10. The addition of the Brewery Parkade seems to have made this situation worse.

11/06/2007

Ask RIDOT: Old highway signs due for replacement
Q. We had company recently from California and they complained that when driving at night it is very difficult to read some of our highway signs. I thought they were over complaining until last Sunday night coming from Connecticut on I-395 to Route 6 I wanted to get on I-295 then onto Route 6. I couldn’t read those signs at night. I have never taken notice of our signs because I know my way around Rhode Island except for this one area. I was surprised to see how difficult it can be to read our signs at night. Is there some kind of fluorescent paint that they could use for the printing of the signs? I’m not a complainer but I though this was an important problem.

10/30/2007

Ask DOT: Exit markings from Route 95 at Exit 22 are as simple as A, B, C
Q. I’ve always been confused why the DOT has the ramps for Routes 10, 6, and Providence Place Mall off Route 95 north and south marked the way they are. Driving 95 south for example, the exit is marked, I believe, from left to right Exit 22 C, B, A. So as you are exiting you would think that the exits are C to the left, B in the middle and A to the right, but when you are on the exit ramp, you realize that they are actually lined up the other way and you would have to make a fast turn into the other lane to exit correctly. I know what to expect, but surely any out of state driver could make a startled move to exit the correct exit here.

10/16/2007

Ask RIDOT: Trying to keep signs simple, so drivers can react
Q. With the construction of the new merge from I-95 North to I-195 East, due for completion this fall, could the State of Rhode Island add two numbers to the signs directing traffic toward Route 195 and Route 6? Please add Route 44 to the signs. There is more than Cape Cod existing in that direction. We have had many visitors over the years that have ended up in Attleboro because there was no indication when they were entering Providence or that Route 44 leads to East Providence, Seekonk, etc.

10/09/2007

Ask RIDOT: Broken vehicle detector in West Warwick has been repaired
Q. I’m writing about the intersection of Main Street and Fairview Avenue in West Warwick. This intersection was updated a number of years ago. The problem is that the red light is biased toward the traffic coming into the intersection from the south on Main Street. This works at evening rush hour, but the traffic in the morning is just the opposite. Does this warrant the timing being altered? Also, the bridge on Fairview Avenue was damaged years ago. There are Jersey barriers and orange plastic fencing there, but it seems dangerous. Will it be fixed?

09/18/2007

Ask RIDOT: How traffic signals are timed;
Q. I am writing about a subject that has perplexed me for a long time: namely, how DOT decides how long the interval should be for a light change. Frequently, I find myself in a long line of cars (not during rush hour) that moves slowly because a quick change from green back to red occurs. I’ve often wondered what the reason is that the lights are not set to remain green for longer intervals in order to allow more cars to pass and therefore, free up congestion. When I visit other states (such as Florida) I notice the lights there seem to stay green for several minutes.

09/04/2007

Ask RIDOT: Signal and sign aimed at Jefferson Boulevard backups
Q. My question is what is the eventual plan for the off-ramp from Route 95 N/Route 37 onto Jefferson Boulevard? During the morning commute, that entire area has been congested, with cars from the closely built on-ramps crossing over those waiting to exit. Further, with Jefferson Boulevard’s growing number of businesses, those exiting are now often backed up. I was thrilled to finally see that signals were being installed to control the traffic onto Jefferson, but they’ve been in “blink mode” for a long time.

08/21/2007

Ask RIDOT: Albion Bridge guardrail to be repaired, but not repainted
 Q. An attractive iron bridge crosses the Blackstone River dividing Albion (Lincoln) from Cumberland. The bridge connects School Street in Albion to Albion Road in Cumberland. In November of 2005, an automobile overturned at the start of the bridge on the Cumberland side. The broken guardrails have never been repaired. Furthermore, although the bridge was once painted a lovely forest green, it badly needs fresh paint. The bridge is now more rust than green. Who is responsible for the upkeep of the bridge, the highway department of the towns or DOT? On the Cumberland side, the signage is inadequate to alert drivers as they approach the bridge because: Cars approach the bridge while going downhill; drivers must make a sharp left turn to enter the bridge; the bridge itself is more narrow than the road; there is no lighting on the bridge; and there are no reflectors on the guard rails.

08/14/2007

Ask RIDOT: Sign panels that are reflecting their age have to be replaced
I have several questions.

08/07/2007

Ask RIDOT: The pothole’s fixed; Route 138 roundabout’s in planning stages
Q: I was wondering if the DOT could fix a large pothole in the right lane at the intersection of Route 138 East and Route 110 (Ministerial Road)

07/31/2007

Ask RIDOT: Motorists must always yield right of way to emergency vehicles
Q. I would like to know what the proper action is in this situation. I was the second car in line stopped at a red light on Route 2 in Warwick when a fire truck came up behind me. There was a car in front of me and cars in all the lanes to the right of me so it was not possible to pull to the right. Is it proper for cars to proceed through the red light in this situation to allow the fire truck to proceed?

07/24/2007

Ask RIDOT: Using on-off ramps to bypass traffic
Q. Is there any Rhode Island law on the books that prohibits drivers from using highway exit on-ramps and off-ramps as a way to advance in traffic? During morning rush hour on Route 195 West, drivers are exiting at Broadway, then going straight through the traffic to reenter the highway. This creates additional traffic congestion on the off ramp and more merging traffic when they come back onto the highway, adding to rush hour delays and frustrating those of us who don’t try to get ahead using tactics like this. I’m sure this happens in other high traffic locations and that driving in a breakdown lane is prohibited — can this be considered a similar violation?

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