The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will change the configuration of the lane split on I-95 North near Exit 30 in Pawtucket on Wednesday, September 23. Two days later, starting on Friday, September 25, RIDOT will reduce travel lanes from three to two throughout the weekend. Both changes are part of an ongoing $25 million project to replace four bridges that carry both directions of I-95 over Roosevelt Avenue and East Street.
The current lane split has two lanes to the left and one lane to the right of the split. On September 23, the pattern will be changed to have one lane to the left and two to the right of the split. RIDOT recommends that motorists reduce their speed through the work zone but not stop or suddenly change lanes – all lanes go through.
For the weekend of September 25, RIDOT will demolish and replace another portion of the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge. With the reduction of a travel lane throughout the weekend, travelers should expect delays and use Route 146 and I-295 as alternates.
All traffic on Roosevelt Avenue under the bridge will be detoured. Motorists will need to turn onto George R. Bennett Highway, right onto Broadway and right onto East Street to return to Roosevelt Avenue. Additionally, RIDOT will make a short section of Middle Street, just west of the highway overpass, open to two-way traffic to provide access to homes off the closed part of Roosevelt Avenue. A detour map is available at www.ridot.net/DetourMaps.
Once the weekend lane closure ends, prior to 6 a.m. Monday, the lane split will be removed. The on-ramp from Fountain Street to I-95 North remains closed until mid-November. Follow signed detour via Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway. Additionally, the off-ramp on I-95 South at Exit 30 will remain closed until mid-November.
The Roosevelt Avenue and East Street 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.