The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) today announced that it plans to open a new on-ramp to I-95 South from the area of Point Street and West Franklin Road next week on Thursday, November 18, 2010.
This exit will serve to replace access to I-95 South that once was served by an on-ramp from Broad Street. The former Broad Street on-ramp was closed in November 2008 so RIDOT could build one of the key pieces of the Iway project, I-95 South to I-195 East.
The ramp is another step in a series of road, on- and off-ramp openings in the Point Street area this fall. In October, RIDOT opened a new on-ramp from I-95 North from Point Street and made numerous changes to city streets to establish a one-way traffic circulator along the I-95 corridor. Last year, the Department opened exits from I-95 North to Point Street and I-195 West to Point Street.
“The Department has introduced a number of changes in the past year,” RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis said. “We urge motorists to carefully review information in the media and on our website about these changes and plan a little extra time in their commutes as they become accustomed to the new exits and traffic patterns.”
All these changes in the Point Street area will work together to improve highway access to and from The Jewelry District, Downcity, the West End and South Providence areas. The highway on and off-ramps also help replace highway access to parts of the city that had direct highway access to the old I-195.
On November 22, four days after opening this new ramp to I-95 South, RIDOT will close the temporary on-ramp from Blackstone Street, off Allens Avenue, to I-95 South. The Department built this ramp to provide additional access to I-95 back in 2008 when it closed the Broad Street ramp. This ramp was always intended to be temporary.
All schedules are weather-dependent and subject to change.
Motorists with questions can contact RIDOT’s Customer Service office at 401-222-2450 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional information will be available on RIDOT’s website (www.dot.ri.gov) and its social media sites on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Blogger.