O-N Radio's own Dave Richards was on hand for today's Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Truman Drive Greenway Project. A grant for the project was awarded by the RI Infrastructure Bank for $2,000,000, with an additional $500,000 from the USEPA Southeast New England Program Stormwater Implementation Grants 2023, and a $1,000,000 cash match from RIDOT. The project will begin Tuesday, September 3, 2024, and completion is expected to take sixty days with the road re-opening scheduled for November 1, 2024.
Full Press Release below photos.
Woonsocket Mayor Beauchamp Announces $3,500,000 Project to Begin
WOONSOCKET, R.I.: Mayor Christopher Beauchamp announced that a ceremonial ground-breaking ceremony for the Truman Drive Greenway Project will occur on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at 1:00 pm at the SMILE artwork on Truman Drive.
A grant has been awarded by the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank for $2,000,000 to fund construction site preparation, landscape cap, streetlights, drainage and green infrastructure, removal and disposal of contaminated soil, pedestrian access, and road restoration. An additional grant of $500,000 has been awarded from the USEPA Southeast New England Program Stormwater Implementation Grants 2023 (SNEP SWIG23) and a $1,000,000 cash match from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
Mayor Beauchamp thanked the funding partners for supporting this environmental project that will transform the Truman Bypass into a greenway that residents and visitors to the city will enjoy for generations.
The project's goal is to remove one and a half lanes to create a single lane north and southbound, respectively, while transforming the removed lane into a linear park and bike path to address environmental stormwater concerns, socioeconomic improvements, and generalized beautification of the city.
Manafort Construction, Inc. will begin the project on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Three lanes of traffic will be closed during the project, leaving one lane open to traffic, and a detour route will be in place on Main Street. Substantial project completion is expected to take sixty days with the road re-opening scheduled for November 1, 2024.
Multiple reports say Germany, Sweden and Canada will send troops to Greenland. This comes amid President Trump's threats to take control of the self-governing Danish territory. Before meeting with officials from Denmark and Greenland today, Trump said anything less than U.S. control of Greenland would be "unacceptable." 
