DOT Working to Redesign Mendon Road, Diamond Hill Road Intersection

After years of waiting, a re-design of the intersection of Mendon and Diamond Hill Roads is in the works, thanks in part to the advocacy of Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt (D-Dist. 49).

The Department of Transportation has started redesigning the intersection to include a right-turn lane from the northbound side of Mendon Road onto Diamond Hill Road, according to a release from the Legislative Press and Public Information Bureau.

The redesign will also include new phasing in of the traffic signals to give drivers making left turns at the intersection their own time to do so, according to DOT officials.

Baldelli Hunt has been petitioning the DOT to address congestion at the intersection for several years. She said she's pleased the project is finally moving. “This is one of the busiest intersections in town, full of people heading to work or to the shopping areas nearby. It can be a nightmare, especially in the morning and evening rush hours, creating a significant traffic backup a long way down the road,” said Representative Baldelli Hunt. 

"We submitted a request for that years ago," said Public Works Director Sheila McGauvran. She said the planning department asked the RI DOT to redesign the intersection in July 2011, before she took over at the department. She said in June the department also asked the RI DOT to consider using some of the land once occupied by the old Vermette's Restaurant to widen the intersection.

According to the release, the DOT expects to acquire a piece of the property on the southeastern corner of the intersection to make way for the new lane, but how much land it needs won’t be clear until further along in the design process.

The project is currently in the early design phases, with the first part of three-phase design expected to be finished by June 21.The DOT anticipates putting the project out for bid next spring, with construction in the early summer of 2014.

"This will put an end to drivers getting stuck in the middle of the intersection because they can’t catch a break in oncoming traffic to take a left, and an end to sitting through several cycles of lights because someone ahead can’t get through,” said Baldelli Hunt.