SEEKONK — Over six years after a fiery crash served as the impetus for the project and some three years since it actually commenced, the reconstruction of the intersection at Route 114A and Arcade Avenue in neighboring Seekonk abutting the iconic Old Grist Mill Tavern is just about nearing its completion.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation took on the assignment of correcting the once narrow, harsh-angled curve on Route 114A following the June 2012 tractor trailer roll-over accident ruptured a gas line that set the Grist Mill ablaze in the early hours of what was an otherwise benign Sunday morning.

The work, beginning in the summer of 2015, called for modifying the bend of the 114A turn by lessening its severity, the installation of a set of traffic lights, which weren’t present previously, and improvements to the bridge structure over the Runnins River, including sidewalks, improved drainage and repair to an existing culvert.

The project cost $2.5 million, paid for through state and federal funds. The early estimates, proved to be a bit optimistic, were for it take place over some six to eight months. The initial construction timeline was soon amended to a spring 2017 completion date then revised to the fall of last year. Only within the last week, however, were the signals functioning. The road did remain open, though, throughout construction.

So, too, eventually did the Grist Mill. Operations were shuttered for slightly more than two years before owner Greg Esmay, an East Bay resident and restauranteur, completely renovated and reopened it in November of 2014. The structure was rebuilt in its exact footprint and based off designs made following another fire at the site in the late 1950s, Mr. Esmay noted at the time.