In addition to the signs, the project includes a “massive landscaping” along the connector road with more than 7,000 trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses and ground covers, St. Martin said. Plantings include autumn maple, blue spruce and hummingbird summersweet bushes, he added.
The project also includes paving and stormwater treatment work, signage renewal, installation of sculptural fences and artistic painting of barriers and railings, St. Martin said.
The department did not have a breakdown for just the cost of the signs, he said, but the main contractor, Manafort Brothers Inc., hired a subcontractor, ARTfx, to manufacture the signs.”
The signs and other improvements are creating a consistently positive first impression with visitors and residents of the state’s premier airport,” St. Martin said. “As you can see, the two signs at the Airport Connector exits for northbound and southbound travelers on I-95 are placed among elaborate plantings of native trees and shrubs and are illuminated at night.
“While some see this as a good sign, others are more skeptical.
Robert Cushmana former Warwick City Council and School Board member who runs the Facebook page “The Taxpayers’ Spin” said, “I’m a fiscal conservative, so every time I drive by I think, ‘How much money did this cost us?'”
When told that the total cost of the project was $10.3 million, Cushman said, “That seems ridiculous. If you put up a cheaper sign, you could have had more money to tear down the failing Washington Bridge and build a new one.”
In December, state officials closed the west side of the Washington Bridge because of a “critical defect” and later decided it needed to be rebuilt. The $46 million demolition project has begun, and the Department of Transportation estimates the cost of building a new, westbound Washington Bridge at more than $400 million.
Cushman asked, with a wink, how much the new airport signs cost per letter. “Thank God they changed the name of the state of Rhode Island – if it had still been ‘Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,’ it would have cost $50 million,” he said.
He joked that the state could have used LED signs and advertising sales to finance the project.”
At least it’s spelled correctly,” Cushman said, referring to the misspelling on a sign for a North Providence sports complex honoring the former Providence College basketball star. Ernie DiGregorio.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island, which also includes information about local events, links to interesting stories and more. To receive it by email Monday through Friday, You can register here.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @FitzProv.
