Members of the Tiverton Town Council on Monday unanimously accepted the transfer of a service road near Route 24 from the state, a move that town officials said will make nearby residents eligible to access town services they currently do not receive. In total, the dead-end service road encompasses just over two acres of land and is being deeded to the town at no charge.

Currently, residents in the area locally known as Blueberry Hill do not receive town services including plowing and trash pickup.

“They get nothing,” State Representative Jay G. Edwards said. “They don’t have street addresses, they don’t get mail. They don’t have any services from the town.”

Rep. Edwards said he has been working for three years to transfer the property, known by the state as Service Road T-3, noting that it was the longest he has ever spent on such an issue.

Edwards explained that the road's original purpose was to provide access to the state DOT from Route 24 and the cut that runs through it.

“That’s the only reason the state owns it. If they had to go back and do work on the cut, they had a point to put their crane in.”

DPW director David Silvia Jr. said service roads are not classified as roads, meaning that they are not maintained by the state or town. Two houses are currently located adjacent to the road, with a third on the way. In addition, there is a foundation for a potential future building on the land as well.

With the land acquired, the road now qualifies as a town road, and residents will be eligible for town services. Still unknown is what the new town road will be named. Councilors encouraged a resident in attendance to come up with ideas and report back.