Travel Advisory: I-95 Weekend Lane Closures for Bridge Work in Providence Start November 7

RHODE ISLAND, October 22 - On the weekends of November 7-10 and November 14-17, the Rhode Island Department Transportation (RIDOT) will close two lanes in both directions of I-95 for the decommissioning of a bridge over an inactive rail line between Cadillac Drive and the Roger Williams Park Zoo property in Providence.

The closures start each weekend at 8 p.m. on Fridays with all lanes open by 5 a.m. Monday morning. For I-95 North traffic, the closure will begin after the Route 10 (Exit 33) interchange. For I-95 South traffic, the closure will begin after the Thurbers Avenue (Exit 35) interchange. No exits or on-ramps will be affected by this closure.

Drivers should expect traffic delays. RIDOT strongly suggests that travelers use alternate routes such as Route 10 and I-295 on both weekends and plan additional time for travel.

For the week of November 10-14, there will be a lane split in both directions of I-95 at this bridge. There will be two lanes on either side of the work zone. Drivers should not stop or suddenly change lanes at the split. This unsafe behavior will cause traffic delays and could lead to a crash. All lanes go through.

The schedule for this work and traffic impacts is as follows:

November 7-10: Starting at 8 p.m., RIDOT will close the two right lanes in each direction of I-95. The lanes will remain closed through the weekend, reopening by 5 a.m. on Monday, prior to the morning rush hour.

November 10-14: There will be a lane split on I-95 South at this location with two lanes on either side of the split. All lanes go through.

November 14-17: Starting at 8 p.m., RIDOT will close the two left lanes in each direction of I-95. The lanes will remain closed through the weekend, reopening by 5 a.m. on Monday, prior to the morning rush hour.

RIDOT conducted similar weekend lane closures last fall for the successful rapid replacement of the Elmwood Avenue Bridge and in 2023 for the Wellington Avenue Bridge. Based on these past weekend bridge operations, motorists can expect congestion and delays leading up to the work zones. Again, RIDOT recommends that motorists consider using alternate routes during these weekends.

RIDOT will be filling in the opening under the highway instead of building a new bridge. Since the old rail right-of-way is no longer in use, this approach will save significant cost as opposed to building a replacement bridge, as well as long-term operation and maintenance costs.

The bridge, officially called the Narragansett Electric Siding Bridge, was classified as structurally deficient. It is along of the busiest sections of I-95 and carries 135,300 vehicles per day.

This work is part of the I-95 15 Bridges project, which will remove 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. A total of 11 bridges will be repaired and four will be eliminated. RIDOT also will rebuild Route 10 from Elmwood Avenue to Park Avenue – transforming it into a boulevard with a shared use path to provide better connectivity for all users.

All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.

This bridge work is made possible by RhodeWorks and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act [5artinnab.cc.rs6.net]. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island's infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.