State planning office and consultants outline Resilient Route 114 plan, urge public input

The Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning and its consultant team presented initial findings from a Resilient Route 114 planning effort at a public workshop, urging residents of Barrington, Warren and Bristol to help shape near‑term, fundable adaptation options.

"We are helping to find this project the Resilient Route 114 plan," said Roberta Gro, assistant chief at the Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning, opening the meeting and stressing that "the flooding that is not in the future anymore — it's here now." Organizers noted the project receives Federal Highway funding and asked attendees to complete anonymous feedback forms.

Alex Maxwell, a planner with O'Neal, said the project's principal aim is to develop "actionable" alternatives rather than a report that "go[es] on a shelf." He said the team is combining an 80‑page existing-and-future-conditions analysis, coastal flood modeling and field documentation to identify sites where concrete, fundable interventions could reduce flood risk and preserve evacuation access.

Project presenters mapped a series of "areas of vulnerability" (AOVs) along Route 114 where tidal flooding and storm surge could overtop the roadway and reach adjacent commercial, residential and cultural sites. In Barrington the team identified multiple AOVs that can render long stretches of Route 114 impassible, at times blocking bridge access; one AOV surrounds a grocery store and a CVS pharmacy, raising concerns about access to critical services.

The Warren AOVs extend from the Warren–Barrington bridge south toward St. Alexander Catholic Church and the Corus Institute. Presenters said northbound evacuation can be constrained in less intense events and that more intense storms would exacerbate evacuation challenges for residents on Palmer and Warren avenues.

In Bristol presenters said an AOV north of Papasquash Road to Oliver Street would flood the low-lying area near the Silver Creek bridge in less intense events, forcing traffic to tighter local streets that are not ideal for evacuation. Another Bristol AOV includes the Fairview Drive–Union Street corridor; the team warned that more intense storms could impede access to the Bristol sewer pump station and the Bristol Water Pollution Control facility.

Shauna, a project team presenter, emphasized the maps shown were current-condition examples (the team also has future-condition modeling) and told attendees there are adaptation options to explore. "This is tidal flooding in 2023 — these were areas that were already flooded," she said, adding that the stations would focus on feasible alternatives.

Arnold, another project presenter, explained the workshop format: four staffed stations (Barrington, Warren, Bristol and a regional intersections table) where residents can meet engineers, planners and state officials one-on-one. He urged attendees to do three things at the stations: ask technical questions, share local observations about how flooding has changed, and respond to two prompts — list top worries for each AOV and propose what state or municipal governments should do.

Organizers encouraged participants to write ideas on sticky notes and place them on maps; they said the project team will post the full existing-and-future-conditions document and station results to the project webpage and will return to the public in October with draft adaptation options. They also described a MyPost app to let residents upload geolocated photos tied to tide information for use in trend analysis.

The workshop closed with behavioral guidelines for respectful discussion and reminders that Roberta and Arnold would circulate as floaters to answer general questions. The team said an additional workshop focused on Barrington would be held later in the week.