On Friday night, November 13, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is scheduled to install a lane split on I-95 South beginning about one-half mile before the Jefferson Boulevard off-ramp (Exit 31C) on the Cranston/Warwick line. The lane split is necessary for phased replacement of the bridges that carry I-95 over the Pawtuxet River and Jefferson Boulevard.
The traffic pattern will feature three lanes to the left of the split and one lane to the right. All lanes go through and continue onto I-95 South. Drivers should not stop or suddenly change lanes at the split. This unsafe behavior will cause traffic delays and could lead to a crash.
The change will not affect drivers wishing to take Exit 31A to Route 37 East toward Warwick or Exit 31B to Route 37 West toward Cranston. Motorists can either use the single lane to the right of the split or the first lane to the left of the split to take the exits for Route 37. An animation showing the scheduled lane split is available at www.ridot.net/The-I-95-15.
This traffic change is temporary and will be in place until spring 2027. At that time, RIDOT expects to modify the split to provide a different configuration and to install a lane split for northbound traffic. Each split establishes a work zone to allow a portion of the bridge to be demolished and replaced. With each change in the lane split configuration, RIDOT can progress access the entire width of the bridge deck. All lanes are expected to be returned to their original configuration by spring 2029.
The replacement of these two bridges is part of the I-95 15 Bridges project which is removing 15 bridges from the state's backlog of poor and fair to poor condition bridges along I-95 and Route 10 between Providence and Warwick. Nine of the 15 bridges are structurally deficient. Three are rated among the top five most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Rhode Island. At the Huntington Viaduct, RIDOT is redesigning the entire interchange of Route 10 with I-95. More details are available at www.ridot.net/The-I-95-15.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.