EAST PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee joined R.I. Department of Transportation officials and other federal, state and local dignitaries last month to celebrate the completion of Waterfront Drive.

The new 1.1-mile roadway directly links Warren Avenue to Dexter Road along the Seekonk River. According to a news release, the project is intended to spur future business growth within a previously “underutilized section” of East Providence through an improved connection to Interstate 195.

The news release touted the project as a municipal/state/federal partnership because of the involvement of the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, DOT and the city.

Additionally, DOT worked with the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center and the school’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences to use the Waterfront Drive project as a pilot for the state’s Diesel Retrofit Program. The news release said that early findings are “quite positive, showing reductions in the amount of soot released into the air from construction vehicles.” •