Residents along a stretch of Smithfield Avenue say patched Rhode Island Energy work has left their homes vibrating and cracking when trucks pass, according to Councilor Marlena Martins Stachowiak. Because Smithfield Avenue is a state road, the city cannot repair it and back-charge the utility the way it could on a city street, the city’s public works director said. The council voted by voice vote to send a letter to Rhode Island Energy and the state transportation department, copying city public works and the solicitor. The letter cites a state curb-to-curb paving law and requests an immediate response.
Pawtucket, R.I. — The Pawtucket City Council voted Wednesday to send a letter pressing Rhode Island Energy and state transportation officials to properly repair utility work on Smithfield Avenue. Residents there say the patched road has left their homes shaking when trucks pass, according to the Pawtucket City Council’s published meeting recording.
The letter will go primarily to Rhode Island Energy and the state transportation department, with copies to the city’s Public Works Department and City Solicitor Frank J. Milos, Jr.’s office. It will ask how the utility intends to remedy the situation and request an immediate response. The council approved sending it by voice vote.
What residents are reporting
City Councilor Marlena Martins Stachowiak brought the issue forward in a communication. It was pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. A consent agenda is a bundle of routine items approved in a single vote unless a member asks to discuss one separately…