By MICHAEL PENNACCHIA

RICHMOND – “The state took my dream away,” said an angry Tony Rego, owner of SM Gas and Mini-Mart on Route 1 in Charlestown.  Rego was referring to the dream of putting his two boys through college – the  dream that would be funded by  “their education money,” the $154,000 cash investment he made in four acres and a gas station on the east side of Route 1 three years ago.

Business had been chugging along since the Fall River resident purchased the property at auction from the bankrupt DB Mart, when the Pawtucket-based chain auctioned off 135 stores in October 2004.

Prior to October, southbound vehicles on Route 1 were able to cross directly over the highway to Rego’s station through a break in the median.  Now, they must continue traveling south about a half-mile to the newly-installed light at The Hitching Post, make a u-turn, then travel north again another half-mile to SM.

“It’s cut my business 75%,” said Rego.  “The state is forcing me out of business.”

The ongoing redirection of traffic and installation of traffic signals on Route 1 was designed, at the behest of the community “to improve traffic safety,” according to Frank Corrao, deputy chief engineer for the R.I. Department of Transportation (DOT).

“We had to evaluate convenience relevant to safety, and we erred on the side of safety,”
said Corrao.  “We couldn’t compromise the safety of the motoring public for the convenience of a business owner to provide direct access to their business.  It’s an unfortunate event as a result of the construction, but we did the best we could,” he said.

Rego disagrees with that and believes that the DOT could have put more thought into the project as they seemed to do at the turnaround on Route 1 just north of Route 138 near the Valero gas station in Wakefield.  “What’s good for Wakefield should be good for Charlestown,” he said, displaying some satellite photos of the Wakefield turnaround.

Kate Waterman, president of the Charlestown Town Council also believes the redesign of Route 1 is inadequate, citing the confusing traffic patterns between Wakefield and Westerly.  “I was violently opposed to it,” she said of the Charlestown plan. “We were supportive of the effort to close the median crossovers, though, because there were so many accidents.  I wish the DOT had seen the whole picture, but they did it piecemeal and this is the result.  I really do empathize.”

According to Paula Andersen, executive director of the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce, the road project has had no impact on members.  “I haven’t had any calls from disgruntled Chamber members about the impact on their business,” she said, though she noted that only a very small percentage of Route 1 businesses are members.  SM Gas and Mini-Mart is not one of them.

Michael Pelham, owner of the Michael’s Shell gas station, south of SM, didn’t report any negative impact on his business, though he suggested that there was impact when the median break in front of his station was closed a few years ago.  Pelham declined to elaborate.

This past weekend, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, a steady stream of customers flowed into SM for snacks, cigars and gas.  Rego, who claimed to keep his gas prices low because he was an “independent” was selling regular gas at $2.99 per gallon.  A couple miles south at Michael’s Shell, regular gas was priced at $2.94.  

Still further south at Rambling Rose Antiques, Grace Klinger, an antiques dealer said that “it was scary at times; like cars would come right through” the building.  She was referring to the northbound cars that were using the break in the median in front of her shop to turnaround to go south.  

She didn’t notice any immediate change in business, since the median had been closed for just a couple of weeks, but this was the first day she’d worked since then.  “If this was high summer, we might have a problem,” she said.  “People have to get used to the traffic pattern.  I think it’s safer.”

“We’re moments away from completion,” said Corrao.  “Traffic signals, curbing, turnarounds and signage should be finished by the end of November.  And restoration landscaping (seeding and loam) should be completed by the end of next May.”  

Meanwhile, Rego says he has collected nearly 1,000 signatures of local residents in support of his petition to add a third lane and reinstate the break in the median across from his station.  And there’s no indication that he’s going to let up his protest until he gets some satisfaction.

“If I had to do business again, I would never do business in Rhode Island,” he said.  “They don’t care about small business owners.”

But the outlook for Rego may not be so bad, and owning a business in R.I. could turn out to be a windfall if he’s forced to sell due to waning business.  “I can turn around and sell the property for $600,000,” he said, while bantering with a customer, who was purchasing a couple of lottery tickets.

A broker familiar with the Charlestown real estate market confirmed that Rego’s property was probably valued at around  $500,000.

When Rego pulled the tickets from the lottery machine, a familiar tune could be heard as he handed them to the customer.  The tune?  “We’re in the money!”

“I’ve been blessed,” said Rego.  “God’s always been on my side.”