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August 8, 2007

Smithfield soon gets traffic divider to reduce crashes

SMITHFIELD -- The state Department of Transportation announced today that work crews will soon build a traffic divider on Cedar Swamp Road at the Apple Valley Mall, an area prone to traffic accidents.

The DOT admitted that a “bad design” has been the culprit in the crashes.

The area is question is just east of the Route 44 intersection. A convenience store and gas station lies across the street. Cedar Swamp Road, also known as Route 5, is six lanes wide, and cars that exit the mall to turn left must cross three to five lanes of traffic headed in opposite directions. Motorists leaving the gas station also often encounter the same difficult traffic pattern in making left turns.

Under the plan announced today workers will install a 2-foot-wide raised island along Cedar Swamp Road starting at Route 44 and stretching east along Cedar Swamp for approximately 225 feet.

Drivers leaving the mall or the gas station will be able only to turn right, eliminating awkward encounters.

The work, expected to begin within a week, was urged by Smithfield’s three General Assembly delegates: Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. D-Smithfield and North Smithfield, Rep. Thomas J. Winfield, D-Smithfield and Glocester, and Rep. Peter J. Petrarca, D-Lincoln, Smithfield and Johnston.

At the request of the legislators, DOT officials examined the intersection, acknowledged the complexities of its configuration and ordered corrections to improve traffic safety, the DOT said.

-- Journal staff writer Thomas J. Morgan

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 4:58 PM | Permalink

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