Citizens campus project on schedule, resident concerns addressed

Few companies in recent history have changed the town’s landscape as much as Citizens Bank’s campus project on Greenville Avenue. While construction of the more than 420,000-square-foot facility is on schedule to open later this summer, work has presented challenges for nearby residents, businesses and the bank itself.

Mike Knipper, head of property and an executive vice president at Citizens, has helped spearhead the 123-acre campus project from its inception. Knipper recently provided a tour of progress at the site to the Sun Rise and addressed residents’ concerns about the effects construction has had on the nearby neighborhood and the town as a whole.

“Let me start with Greenville Avenue, because there has been a lot of noise, I know, lately and we’re hearing about it from all spots,” said Knipper. “To sort of set the record straight, this is a state project that was going to happen at some point in time but absolutely got accelerated because of us.”

Knipper said that Mayor Joseph Polisena has been “extremely worried” about the state of Greenville Avenue, which has undergone a yearlong sewer and water line extension and infrastructure improvement initiative by the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC), which is taking responsibility for the project. Knipper said that he is on the phone with the mayor “each and every single day about it.”

“We’ve worked closely with the Narragansett Bay Commission and the contractors on the job. This is a Narragansett project, but we’re running the project effectively for them, although they really run the quality control and project management,” said Knipper. “They are sending out communications to town residents, I believe, right after the first of February just to rerun everyone through exactly the timeline of everything.”

Currently, the main sewer and water line installations of the project are complete. The original asbestos water line that serviced the area has been removed and replaced with a larger diameter pipe. Lateral crossovers to residents’ homes is now underway, with roughly 80 lateral connections slated to be completed between now and May.

“When they finish 10, they will place a top coat over the road,” said Knipper. “When the top coat is done, the road is not perfect, but the road is probably as good as 90 percent of the roads that you would drive on, and it’s certainly night and day from where the road is right now.”

Knipper stated that each time a lateral connection is added, it takes 90 days for the soil in that area to settle. Final paving of Greenville Avenue is expected to begin this summer.

“The road will feel dramatically different starting in sections over the next couple of months,” said Knipper, who added that the road will be paved from curb to curb once the project is complete and drainage problems will be fixed. He acknowledged that communications about lateral work and road settling could have been better. Knipper also said that “huge amounts of ledge” presented unforeseen obstacles that delayed the project

“There’s a published date, and that’s one of the things that the mayor got really upset about, and rightfully so, that the completion date was November. The completion date of November means that’s when all the final punch list items are done; that doesn’t mean you’ll see a brand new road,” said Knipper. “We feel bad because it’s been a long, dragged out process for the residents, obviously, but I believe that, over these next couple of months as each section gets the top coat, people will feel dramatically different about the road. But I don’t by any means fault the residents for being frustrated and unhappy.”

Jamie Samons, the public affairs manager with NBC, said that winter weather had been a contributing factor to the project, namely abnormally cold temperatures and several severe rain and snowstorms. Another factor contributing to delays was what was found underground during digging.

“The chief challenges with regards to the water and sewer construction has been the larger than anticipated amounts of rock and ledge and the need to avoid blasting [and hammer instead] as a general rule when working around underground gas connections,” said Samons. “Blasting is a more efficient way to go through rock and ledge than hammering, but it doesn’t lend itself to the finesse needed around underground gas connections. So, from a safety standpoint, hammering ended up being the preferred method in much of the Greenville Avenue construction.”

Samons stated that the plan for paving is for the contractor to continue to make sure the road is passable and plowable, addressing specific issues as appropriate, and continuing to encourage motorists to drive slowly and carefully, deferring to the police details

“In the meantime, we encourage anyone interested to sign up for our text messages [text NBCSEWER to 555888] for regular updates on where to expect traffic delays on the next day,” she said. “The information is also available on our Facebook page, but for many people getting a text is more convenient that checking Facebook.”

Mayor Polisena said he’s been in constant contact with both Citizens and NBC regarding Greenville Avenue conditions. He said that paving between Golini and Carpenter Drives would be done on Thursday and Friday, weather permitting. He agreed with Knipper, saying that the sewer and water extension project was going to happen eventually in that neighborhood.

“They didn’t think they were going to hit as much ledge as they did. I think that the weather and the road settling hasn’t helped,” said the mayor. “They need to ensure to make it smooth, and I don’t care how much it costs, that’s not my problem.”

Polisena said he thinks that it’s a “great project” and that the Citizens bank project is “huge and good for the town,” but with any projects of this magnitude there will be issues that arise. He also highlighted the benefits of no assessment fees for residents for the sewer and water line. Polisena also reiterated that Greenville Avenue is a state road, and the town has limited say in infrastructure projects like this one.

“It’s been a pain in the butt, there’s no doubt about it,” said Polisena. “But Mike [Knipper] has been very attentive; they’ve immersed themselves in the community. They’re going to build baseball fields, basketball courts, walking trails and they want the Johnston residents to make use of the facility.”

According to Knipper, the highway on- and off-ramps to Route 295 are progressing on schedule, with a targeted completion by the end of the spring. The most complex portion of that project, walls that line the ramp, were difficult to construct. However, three of the four walls are now complete. He was confident that the ramps would be complete well before employees begin a staggered move into the campus starting in August.

Nearby residents have been concerned about potential traffic problems created with the new ramps and the nearly 3,000 employees that will soon call the campus home. However, Knipper believes that the impact of Citizens employees coming to work will be minimal.

“There’s 3,000 seats, and on any given day generally speaking we’re never going to have more than 75 to 80 percent, tops, of that population in the building,” he said, adding that the vast majority of employees will be present during weekdays. He said that 70 percent of the employees will come from the south and 20 percent will travel from the north. Regardless of direction, employees will use a dedicated lane to enter the campus.

“What I have no idea of is how many people use Greenville as a cut-through that are unrelated [to the campus] because they think it’s going to be faster to get on the ramp here than going to Route 44,” said Knipper. “The traffic engineers felt pretty positive about it, but you don’t know until it actually happens.”

Winter hasn’t been much of an issue for construction crews, but productivity was slowed somewhat during the recent cold snap. However, all the major buildings at the campus are now sealed and heated and work is on schedule.

“I think we’ve been good citizens in the town. Our intention is to be active members in this community from now on until the end of time because now we’re a big part of this town” said Knipper. “I think we’ve done all we can do short of moving them all to another location during the time the road is dug up. But I’m a realist in this perspective. If I was living on the road, personally, it doesn’t matter what I say. I’d still be stuck with that road for the last ten months. So I feel bad for the residents.”