If its feels like Ferry Road has been under construction “forever,” it’s because it has. Since January of 2017, a series of projects have been executed almost continuously, disrupting both traffic flow and the roadway surface. But it will all be over soon.

Why so long? A cynic might assume inefficiency, but in fact the opposite is true. “It’s been a really good collaboration,” said Town Administrator Steven Contente. One that has saved money, not only for the town, but also the Bristol County Water Authority and Roger Williams University.

It began back in January of 2017, when the university, with new dormitories and a new engineering building in the works, requested an upgrade to the sewer main that ran the length of Ferry Road, from the university to a pump station near the intersection of Hope and wood Streets and Ferry Road.

“The town initially declined,” said Mr. Contente. “We thought the line served our needs, and we told the university to pay for it.”

However, sewage backups near Ambrose Drive, caused by a pre-exiting bottleneck in the line, led town officials to rethink their decision. “It addition to the bottleneck, we realized that the sewer main was partly asbestos and concrete. It was at its life expectancy, and would soon need to be replaced anyway,” said Mr. Contente.

So the town partnered with the university for the replacement of that pipe, with the university bearing a third of the cost.

Subsequently, the Bristol County Water Authority needed to replace its water main near Fairview Avenue at Ferry Road, at the same time the town needed to execute drainage work to install raised inlets to stop rainwater from overflowing the sewer plant. The town was able to partner with BCWA and share the costs of engineering and some materials. In total, work completed includes new sewer mains, new storm drains, a new water main, and a catch basin that was replaced by the state. The gas lines were already new and should not need replacing for many years.

In addition, services were added to the west side of Ferry Road to the property lines along that route, so that in the event age or sea level rise requires abandoning the lines that are closer to shore, those properties can be tied into utilities without disrupting the road.

“We’re hoping to be done by the end of the week,” said Mr. Contente. “And we have no plans to dig up Ferry Road again for a very long time.”