Part 6: EPVME near the RI/MA Border

When the Route 195 freeway opened in Dec 1959, traffic could travel from the Washington Bridge to the East Shore Expressway (ESE) to continue to Wampanoag Trail and vice versa. The bridge where Wampanoag Trail crosses over the ESE is the 13th of 14 bridges. In 1961, it was named for two Korean War veterans, Robert Leighton and Arthur Lusignan. In 1988 and in 2014, RIDOT repaired significant damage to the bridge caused by trucks hitting the bridge.

In 1994, the missing original 1961 bridge memorial type of sign was replaced with a 24 inch by 18.5-inch bronze plaque attached to the concrete bridge. Today a plaque exists on the west (E. Prov.) side. Did a second 1994 plaque exist on the east (towards Mass.) side (see photos)? As part of the 2021 restoration of missing bridge memorial signs along the EPVME, a flat (1961 like sign) placed on the east side completes this pair of memorials.

Along Warren Ave., the pond near or on the Horton Brothers’ Farmland was a favorite place for the Fontes brothers (Fontes-Gracie Memorial Bridge on Lyon Ave.) to play hockey in the winter. Further east, there was an un-named non-public access road connecting Warren Ave. to Waterman Ave. Then two parallel streets, Almquist St. and Revere St., with no buildings. Right angle Ford St. connected Warren Ave. with State St. This area had many planned house lots but only one or two buildings. Where are the buildings now? Were they moved or demolished to build Route 195? Land on the east side of Warren Ave., bordered by Highland Ave., the RI/MA state line as defined by the Runnins River, and County St. contained no buildings.

Today's bridge over Warren Ave., near the state line, did not exist 62 years ago. It was the last (14th) bridge created to join the EP freeway with Route 195 in Mass. In Nov. 1961, the Warren Ave. bridge was named for WWII veterans George P. George and Robert Holtzmann. This is the only EPVME bridge yet to be replaced or repaired by the RIDOT Roadworks project. Last inspected in Sept. 2019, it is rated in fair condition. RIDOT anticipates the next rehabilitation project for this bridge in 2032.
Check and Submit Corrections, especially for Vietnam War names, on the EP Military Service Honor Roll

Over 160 Vietnam veteran names from a May 1969 EP Post tribute were added to the EP Military Service Honor Roll. It is posted on the EP Historical Society's website, ephist.org [ephist.org], under "City Wide Project", “here”. The deadline (Aug.30) for new names has passed. Please send only updates of "in honor of" or "in memory of", ranks, other corrections, or request a name be removed to epvme@hotmail.com  

This documentation of EP residents who served our country will be presented to the City of E. Prov. during the 60th anniversary celebration of the naming of the EP expressway as the E. Prov. Veterans’ Memorial Expressway. Names may appear in the EP Post for Veterans’ Day and in several visual tributes. The “EP WWII Tribute” is now available for viewing on-line. Read about volunteers and items needed (ex. provide rides for veterans to the Nov. 6th ceremony, loan of baseball caps with embroidered names of each war and for each military branch), and more at https://sites.google.com/view/EPVMER2021sites.google.com