Project to begin with the Diamond Hill Road interchange the week of November 27
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) today announced the schedule for the installation of new signage as part of a federally mandated highway renumbering program for its Interstate and other limited-access highways. The entire I-295 corridor will be done first, starting the week of November 27.
Over the course of two weeks RIDOT will update the signage, starting with the Diamond Hill Road/Route 114 interchange in Cumberland. The Department will complete signage updates at an entire interchange before moving on to the next one.
The project will proceed from north to south, covering all of I-295 in Rhode Island from Cumberland to Warwick. The Exit 3/Route 37 interchange is located at Mile Marker 3, and will not need to be changed. The first week of the project, old exits 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be changed. The following week, old exits 1, 2 and 4 will be renumbered. Minor traffic delays may be possible during sign installation. Work will take place during daytime and overnight hours. All schedules are weather dependent and subject to change.
All signs leading up to the exit and at all the off-ramps will be updated to reflect the change. RIDOT will install temporary signs indicating the old exit number and will leave them for an extended period of time so drivers can become accustomed to the change.
The new exit numbers will be keyed to mile markers – a system used throughout the country for many years. Rhode Island and some of its neighboring New England states are among the last in the country to change to this method of numbering.
A mile-marker exit number system lets drivers know how far they need to travel to reach their desired off-ramp. It also allows for easier expansion for future interchanges since the entire highway would not have to be renumbered to accommodate a new exit number.
Learn more at: www.dot.ri.gov/ExitNumbers