As if the school start time was not early enough, the Hussey Bridge construction now is forcing NKHS students and faculty to wake up at least a whole five minutes earlier. An extra five minutes may not seem like a big deal, but we all know that even an extra two minutes of sleep is what helps us get through the never ending school day.

Construction on the Hussey Bridge, which connects Wickford village with the town hall and the town beach, began at 7 a.m. on Apr. 1, conveniently when many students are rushing to get to school on time. The bridge will remain closed through June 24, but construction will resume after this short break on Sept. 6. So, for all students returning to NKHS next year, expect the same annoying traffic to continue after summer.

Whether you live down by Davisville Middle School, in Wickford, or on Annaquatucket, the Hussey bridge closing impacts everyone. Senior Vivian Houseman experiences these time delays. “I usually went over the bridge because I live in Wickford. Now I have to go all the way up Annaquatucket, just like everyone else, and sit in the traffic. The only way I’m on time is I have to wake up a lot earlier than before,” she said.

Kyle Weber also shares the same struggles every morning, too. “I now have to take Ten Rod Road instead of Post Road every morning, which means I have to wake up and leave earlier every day,” said Weber.

The traffic build up begins some mornings before Dave’s Marketplace on Post Road, and winds its way all the way up Post Road, onto Annaquatucket, and through the NKHS parking lot. Traffic becomes so jammed that a policeman now must direct traffic both before and after school. The million dollar question is: How do we decrease this traffic?

Weber believes one way is to let students cut through the teacher parking lot. “If you let students drive through the teacher parking lot, it would provide another way to get to the student parking lot. It would be more efficient and relieve some of the traffic jam,” he said. Another way to make the traffic flow smoother would be to allow people to cut through the side streets, such as Prospect Avenue. The North Kingstown Police Department has “ordered” drivers to stay off many of the side roads that feed into Annaquatucket. This slows school traffic to almost a standstill.

Houseman and Weber share mixed opinions on how successful NK administration has been in dealing with the insane traffic. “I think NK has done a good job. They’ve really done all they can to make it a smooth process,” said Houseman.

Weber, on the other hand, does not think that “NK has done a very good job handling this. My drive to school is now long and stressful because of all the traffic, and it makes the drive to school about 20 minutes longer,” he said.

Dragging yourself up and out of bed for school, which is only a little more exciting than watching paint dry, is a challenging task in itself. Taking a precious ten minutes out of your night’s sleep, however, is almost impossible. At the moment, there is no good solution to relieving the bumper to bumper traffic that everyone must deal with each morning and afternoon. Maybe, if students were allowed to drive through some side streets, or cut through the teacher’s parking lot, they would only lose five minutes of their needed sleep, rather than a whole ten.