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Large concrete electrical vaults are being installed along the northbound lane of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway as part of utility work associated with the Revity Solar Farm project. The vaults are spaced approximately 100 to 200 feet apart.
A large excavator sits at the site of a planned road cut in the northbound lane of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway as crews install underground electrical infrastructure for the Revity Solar Farm project.
A section of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway following excavation and restoration work associated with the installation of underground electrical infrastructure for the Revity Solar Farm project.
Sun staff writer
Large concrete electrical vaults are being installed along the northbound lane of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway as part of utility work associated with the Revity Solar Farm project. The vaults are spaced approximately 100 to 200 feet apart.
A large excavator sits at the site of a planned road cut in the northbound lane of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway as crews install underground electrical infrastructure for the Revity Solar Farm project.
A section of Route 3 (Main Street) in Ashaway following excavation and restoration work associated with the installation of underground electrical infrastructure for the Revity Solar Farm project.
HOPKINTON — Work to install underground electrical infrastructure for the Revity Solar Farm project is underway on Route 3 near Exit 1.
The work is being performed by Revity under a utility permit issued by RIDOT to connect the planned solar facility to Rhode Island Energy’s Bradford substation. Although the work is taking place on a state highway, it is not a Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) project.
High-capacity wires will connect to the solar fields being built on Frontier Road next to Exit 1. The work includes excavators digging large rectangular holes in the road surface and installing large 6-by-13-foot concrete structures into the ground for the required electrical infrastructure.
The work will continue along Route 3, and Route 216, all the way into R.I. Energy’s Bradford substation, which is located in the back of the Gary Burdick Boat Facility. This means additional cuts and digs will be made in the road surface along Route 3 and Route 216, which will be restored and repaved.
Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Dist.38, Hopkinton, Westerly) said in an email to RIDOT that some residents had raised concerns about the condition of the road, which was re-paved three years ago, along with the lack of public notice for the utility work.
According to RIDOT Interim Director Robert Rocchio, the roadway will be paved from curb to curb, with the final restoration not being limited to patching individually excavated areas.
Town Manager Brian Rosso said in an e-mail that the utility work is separate from the approvals given by the Planning Board for the solar project itself.
“The utility work along Route 3 is being done under a separate permit issued by RIDOT and is not part of what the Planning Board approved for the solar project itself,” he said. “The town has no purview over utility work within RIDOT’s right-of-way.”
Rosso further explained that the town not being notified in advance was not out of the ordinary due to it being separate from the town’s review of the solar project.
“That’s consistent with how this typically works,” he said. “Work within RIDOT’s right-of-way is permitted and inspected directly by RIDOT, separately from the Town’s review of the solar project, so notification to the Town directly wouldn’t normally be part of that process.”
In an email, RIDOT Communication Chief Charles St. Martin said they expected utility work to continue into the fall, with the final paving on Route 3 scheduled for spring of 2027.
jvolpe@thewesterlysun.com
Sun staff writer
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