Do you ever walk through Portsmouth and wonder: Why?
Portsmouth Patch is determined to find the answers, but we can't do it without your help!
You Ask … Patch Answers is a regular column for locals looking for solutions to community problems, issues and those "only in Portsmouth" situations that you want solved.
One user recently asked about recent road construction along West Main Road.
Bryan Lucier, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation (DOT), provided this answer.
The work is part of a $3.8 million resurfacing project with D'Ambra Construction that covers two miles of West Main Road from Locust Avenue to Route 24. In addition to the paving, the contractor will also be replacing some sidewalks, working on the signals at several intersections, and repairing some drainage structures. We expect the work to be completed this fall.
As work on West Main Road northbound continues, the right lane will be closed Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. There may be additional lane shifts as the work moves onto the southbound side of the road, and those changes will be posted on our Travel Advisories website at http://www.tmc.dot.ri.gov/traveladvisories/default.asp when they take place.
If you've got a question about something in Portsmouth, send it to Sandy@Patch.com or put it in the comment section below, and our team will dig up an answer.
Want to be e-mailed when we post the answers? Click the “keep me posted!” button below.
Bill Carson
10:44 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
This could be a tough question to find the answer .Rhode Island law sets out a list of purposes for which municipalities may borrow money. Special state legislation was required with respect to voting on the Portsmouth High School wind project. Senate Bill S 0260 year 2007 allowed the Town of Portsmouth a single vote for two items the purchase of the wind turbine and borrow 3 million dollars through bonding. The town still owes 2.3 million on that bond.
Question: If the town decommissions the high school wind turbine and then sells off the equipment to a non-governmental entity will the 0 percent tax-exempt bonds issued to fund the Portsmouth High School wind turbine become taxable, necessitating the refinancing of such bonds on a taxable basis ?
Anthony J. Agostinelli
3:37 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Well, so long as we're at it...here are some mysteries about Portsmouth, (1) The dilapidated conditions at the corner of West Main Road and Cory's Lane need to be addressed -- down that Lane are great destinations...Carnegie Abbey, Portsmouth Abbey, St. Filomena's School and Green Animals Topiary Garden...what an awful lead into those Portsmouth attractions...deplorable; (2) Awful conditions at the park and lock location at the end of Boyd's Lane; (3) Condition of the house at the opposite corner of Connor Funeral Home -- another entrance to high end homes and condominiums at the end of that road; (4) Major construction at the corner of East Main Road and Potomac -- no signs up as to what major development is occurring there; and, (5) Our own "Newtown" on East Main Road across from the Library is in deplorable condition -- that sign is a disgrace...let's be proud of our town, rather than leaving locations such as mentioned here deteriorate...Tony Agostinelli, resident of Portsmouth since 1999 -- I'm a "newcomer", but just as interested as old timers to keep our town from becoming a "shanty town."
Bill Carson
9:22 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Think green renewable energy on St Patricks day .Since 2004 an extensive feasibility study was done to provide green energy needs for the town.The high school wind turbine went online four years ago. The turbine after years of breakdowns had a final catastrophic failure last year. The dreams of a Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City came to an abrupt end.
It's time to embrace a second new green future. There are still plenty of taxpayer dollars to finance a new public-private wind turbine. How could anyone be fooled again?
The light at the end of the tunnel is so bright that everyone is going to have to wear green tinted sunglasses. It's been almost ten years since the first journey down the Yellow Brick Road to the magical land of Oz.
Portsmouth could still be an amazing "green" town.