Newport Gets the Point

By: Kim Osborne
Posted In: News

Newport gets the Point on repairing one of the town’s most historic streets.

In early May of this year Riley Corporation, who has since changed its name to Lynch Botelho Corporation, was hired to fix 25 Newport streets, a job with a contract value of $1.55. One of the roads that needed fixing is the very spine of the Salve Regina University campus, Ochre Point Ave.

Stephen C. Lynch, president of Lynch Botelho Corporation, said that the road was in need of reconstruction not only because the street had been ignored for some time, but mainly because the installation of a new gas main in the spring had left the road torn up.

“The road was in tough shape,” said Lynch.

Originally Lynch believed the work would be finished before Labor Day and before Salve students returned to campus. Scheduling problems pushed back progress on the project but according to Lynch, the Salve community has been very cooperative.

“Everyone has been very polite,” said Lynch.

Lynch believes the value of the work being done on Ochre Point Ave. costs somewhere around $300,000. So far, the road has been re-grated with the ground-up asphalt structure of the old roadway.

According to Lynch the road should be finished around October 1st. Among the work left to complete includes raising structures, installing 700 feet of new granite curbing, a final coat of asphalt and looming and seeding any of the disturbed areas.

“This should last 15-20 years with minimum maintenance,” said Lynch.

John R. Mixter, the director of safety and security at Salve, said that he was notified of the construction on Ochre Point Ave. the Friday before school opened. He realized that the key to handling this situation successfully was to look at it from the standpoint of a commuter.

“Most of the parking that we have in that area is of concern to us because of our commuters,” said Mixter.

According to Mixter, Security worked in conjunction with other campus agencies and the town of Newport to best accommodate the faculty, staff and students at Salve. A detailed e-mail was sent to anyone who would be affected by the construction, informing them of the current situation and advising them about alternate parking locations.

Mixter believes that people were so cooperative because they were notified in a timely fashion and understand that the construction will pose only a temporary inconvenience that will seem meaningless when it’s finished.

“When it’s done, it’s only going to enhance the beauty of the university,” said Mixter.