The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced that it will open a new section of East Franklin Street, adjacent to the I-95 corridor in Providence on Monday, November 22, 2010. This one-way northbound street was built as part of the Iway project, and serves as part of a service road system in the area of Point Street that will improve access to and from I-95 and many areas of Providence.
The new road connects Clifford Street to Broad Street. This connection allows motorists entering the city using I-95 North to Exit 20 (Point Street) access not only to Broad Street, but to the existing northbound service road which connects with Westminster Street, Washington Street and Broadway before ending at Atwells Avenue.
Following demolition of the old I-195 highway, RIDOT will construct additional city streets east of I-95 that will connect to East Franklin Street. Together these new roads will greatly increase accessibility to areas of the city such as the Jewelry District, Downcity, West End and Upper South Providence.
Also taking place on Monday, RIDOT will be closing the temporary on-ramp from Blackstone Street, located off of 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 for Iway construction. Yesterday, RIDOT replaced this highway access with the opening of a new on-ramp to I-95 South from Point Street.
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.
Contact: Charles St. Martin 401-222-1362 x4007
