By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — State transportation officials have given the Division Street Bridge the green light to be opened up to two-way traffic once again. However, due to some modifications that have yet to be made, the change to two-way flow won’t take place for approximately another three months.

At the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center Tuesday night, officials from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and city leaders held an informational meeting with members of the community to discuss the Division Street plan as well as the more complex project of replacing the deteriorating Pawtucket River Bridge on I-95.
The Division Street Bridge was changed to one-way traffic by RIDOT last November as part of a network of detours intended to re-route heavy truck traffic off the Pawtucket River Bridge.
RIDOT officials maintain that the one-way configuration on Division Street is working as intended — to alleviate any traffic from backing up on I-95 itself.
Yet numerous people with businesses along the stretch from Division Street to George Street and the surrounding neighborhood complained to city officials that the one-way traffic was hurting business. In response, city officials promised to work with RIDOT to come up with a new plan to bring back the two-way traffic flow.
Kazem Farhoumand, acting chief engineer with RIDOT, showed two plans for the Division Street Bridge, both with only slightly different changes to create one or two turning lanes at the intersection with George Street. He said he favored the plan that would allow for two turning lanes, in addition to the lane going in the opposite direction.
Farhoumand said, however, that a couple of utility poles have to be moved and the traffic signals and signage reconfigured to allow for the two-way configuration. It is these modifications that prevent the change from taking place any sooner than an estimated three months’ time.
While Farhoumand said the two-way traffic should not pose any substantial problems for the I-95 truck detours, he did caution that it could cause some additional traffic back-ups on nearby Prospect Street and in the Cedar Street and Garden Street area.
Voicing dismay at this assessment was Tom Ross, an official from Memorial Hospital, who said the increased traffic on Prospect Street now is making it difficult for a hospital shuttle bus and other vehicles to get in and out of the property.
However, most of those at the meeting said they welcome the return to two-way traffic, and only wish it could happen sooner.
In the broader scheme, Farhoumand and RIDOT Director Jerome Williams gave a presentation on the plan to replace the  Pawtucket River Bridge that spans the section of I-95 from the George Street to School Street exits.
Williams said the Pawtucket River Bridge replacement is “one of the highest priority projects that we have” and said the completion time should be “nowhere near” the estimates of 5 to 10 years that have been initially reported.
He said RIDOT had already speeded up the process of finding a designer, which typically takes around nine months. He said that while it is too soon to talk about any details of the bridge design, he pledged that RIDOT will work jointly with city officials throughout the process.
Williams also said he is willing to meet with community members and local preservationists about design, in the hopes of creating a bridge that will meld with the historic character of the city.
He cautioned, however, that funds are limited and economy must be considered in the construction and design.
Among the highlights, Farhoumand said the bridge will be widened to make an accelerated/weave lane and the actual span will be shorter because it will be built more into embankments on each side. In addition, the George Street and School Street ramps will be moved further apart, and a two-lane service road will be constructed allowing traffic to exit at School Street or continue onto I-95.
Additionally, a culvert will be built that will carry a section of Pleasant Street under I-95.
Farhoumand also said the School Street off-ramp will be kept open during construction and that three travel lanes in each direction on I-95 will be maintained at all times.
Williams said that RIDOT and city officials will meet again in approximately 90 days, when he expects to have more formalized plans in place.