Highway traffic should consider using I-295 and Route 146 to avoid congestion and delays
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will begin the next phase of extended-weekend highway lane closures and local street closures on Friday, June 26 for work at the bridges that carry I-95 over Roosevelt Avenue and East Street in Pawtucket. RIDOT expects delays and recommends that highway travelers use I-295 and Route 146 as alternate routes.
During the extended-weekend operation, one of the three I-95 South through lanes in the area of Exit 30 will be closed. It will reopen prior to the morning rush hour on Monday, June 29 and the current lane split will be removed with lanes shifted to the right. When the lane reopens, motorists will encounter a lane split for I-95 South in this area with one lane to the right and two lanes to the left of the split. All lanes go through and motorists should not stop or slow down at the split. The lane split will be in effect for approximately one month.
Travel lanes on I-95 North will not be affected. However, the Fountain Street on-ramp to I-95 North will be closed for the weekend.
This weekend's operation will affect local traffic on East Street Avenue, with the road closed at the I-95 overpass. Motorists on East Street westbound should follow a detour turning left on Park Street, right on Central Avenue and right on Roosevelt Avenue to return to East Street. Drivers heading east on East Street can turn right onto Middle Street, left onto Central Avenue and left onto Fountain Street to return to East Street.
Five additional weekend construction periods will be scheduled over the course of one year. RIDOT will announce each weekend closure period in advance. The tentative schedule is as follows:
I-95 South
• Late July 2020: I-95 South lane closure and East Street closed
I-95 North
• Late August and Late September 2020: I-95 North lane closure and Roosevelt Avenue closed • Early May and Late May 2021: I-95 North lane closure and East Street closed
Exit 30 on I-95 South remains closed until late summer. Detour maps for all closures can be found at www.ridot.net/DetourMaps.
A total of four bridges will be replaced in this $25 million design-build project which will be ongoing through Spring 2021. The bridges are functionally obsolete and carry approximately 90,000 vehicles per day. The entire project is scheduled to be finished in Spring 2021.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
The I-95 Corridor Bridges Project was made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT's ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island's transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.