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.

A: The center panel from the “All Traffic” sign on the Henderson Bridge (Bridge Number 600) prior to the last exit to North Broadway when traveling eastbound was recently removed by RIDOT’s maintenance division because the panel had become loose during a storm. Our maintenance division also inspected the supports for this sign and determined that the supports were safe as is, but installed additional bolts to the remaining two panels to ensure it stayed that way. The “All Traffic” sign is expected to be replaced in the near future.

The upcoming interim repair contract for the Henderson Bridge anticipated to begin this year will include drainage. The drainage issues at the on and off ramps should address runoff from the bridge surface.

The repair contract also will include repairs to the steel superstructure, replacement of all downspouts, and cleaning of all deck and joint troughs, as well as repair to the joints on the bridge surface.

‘Jug handle’ plus merge

Q: My comments are about the intersection at the first entrance to Garden City in Cranston heading south on Reservoir Avenue, Route 2, just past Chelo’s and RiteAid.

To enter Garden City, one must go right into a “jug handle” and stop at a traffic light in order to cross Reservoir Avenue traffic. The “jug handle” has two lanes. The left lane is marked with two arrows: one pointing straight and the other pointing for a left turn. The right lane has an arrow pointing straight only.

In my opinion this alignment of arrows does not work well. If one goes straight from the left lane, there is an island blocking progress and one must merge into the line of cars coming from the right lane.

Would it not make more sense to make the left lane “Left Turn Only” onto Reservoir Avenue north? Then make the right lane straight ahead only, thereby having one lane entering Garden City. Those going to the shopping center could easily turn right and those going elsewhere could drive straight on. This would eliminate the confusion caused when a driver approaches the island and realizes a merge is necessary; the line entering all of Garden City would already have been formed easily at the traffic light.

A: The intersection you describe is the jug handle that motorists from Reservoir Avenue (Route 2) southbound enter if they wish to make a U-turn onto Route 2 northbound or to gain access to Garden City and the residential neighborhood that is reached by Garden City Drive.

Currently the right lane is for through-traffic only, while the left lane is a shared through and left lane. Subsequent to proceeding through the signal, the right lane turns into a right turn only lane into Garden City, while the left lane turns into a left around the roundabout and a through movement onto Garden City Drive.

We understand that this creates a merge area as you describe.

Unfortunately, for capacity reasons, the department cannot change the lane use in the jug handle.

During field observations staffers noticed that the majority of motorists are traveling straight through the intersection toward Garden City and the residential neighborhood, rather than making the left turn onto Route 2 northbound. Both lanes are needed for through traffic to pass through the intersection. The engineers are also concerned with the possibility of traffic backing up onto Route 2 southbound if the through movement from the left lane is restricted.

This intersection is included as part of a future project and therefore we will look into other options that could mitigate the area of this merge.

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.

To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask RIDOT, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902. You can also e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Question for the DOT” in the subject field.

Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DOT directly and will not be answered in this column.