Work requires temporary changes to access roads for Kingston Station
On Friday night, November 20, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is scheduled to make numerous temporary traffic pattern changes on Route 138 (Kingstown Road) at Railroad Avenue, the access road to Kingston Station, serviced by Amtrak trains and Rhode Island Public Transit (RIPTA) buses.
RIDOT will be replacing the Kingston Station Railroad Bridge, which carries Route 138 over the railroad tracks. To do this, all traffic will be shifted to the north side of the bridge while RIDOT demolishes and replaces the southern half of the structure. This change will be in place for approximately one year, when traffic will be shifted to the newly constructed portion of the bridge so the Department can demolish and replace the other side. The entire process of replacing the bridge will be done by the end of 2028.
As part of this change, RIDOT must close a portion of Railroad Avenue where it passes under Route 138, as well as take 10 parking spaces from the northern overflow parking area along that section of Railroad Avenue. The start of this work was coordinated to begin after an expansion of parking spaces at the station which the Department completed last summer. That effort added 129 new spaces, bringing the total capacity to 344 parking spaces.
The following is summary of changes that motorists, pedestrians and station users can expect:
• A temporary traffic signal and crosswalks will be installed at the intersection of Route 138 and Railroad Avenue.
• All access to the station will be through the southern entrance of Railroad Avenue only. RIDOT will remove the traffic island there so both eastbound and westbound traffic on Route 138 can use this entrance.
• Anyone parking in the northern overflow parking lot will need to use the crosswalk at Route 138 and sidewalks along Railroad Avenue toward the station.
• The dedicated left turn lane for Route 138 westbound at Fairgrounds Road will be removed. The turning lane will be restored at the conclusion of the bridge replacement.
• Anyone wishing to use the South County Bike Path may use the main parking lot but must park close to the trailhead at the far end of the parking lot.
• As always, no University of Rhode Island parking is allowed at the station.
A map depicting the change in station access is available at www.ridot.net/DetourMaps.
The improvements are part of the larger Route 138 Corridor project, an $82.3 million project that also will include new sidewalks, traffic signal upgrades and resurfacing along Route 138 from Route 2 (South County Trail) to Route 108 (Kingstown Road). The work on Route 138 is still under design, but RIDOT hopes to begin work there later in 2027. The entire project is scheduled to finish in spring 2029.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.