EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Drivers who use Interstate 195 between Providence and the Massachusetts line should plan around a full overnight shutdown early next month. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation will close the highway eastbound and westbound by the Taunton Avenue exit in East Providence from 10 p.m. Nov. 6 until 10 a.m. Nov. 7 so crews can knock down the Potter Street bridge.
The old overpass has to come out so the interstate can be widened ahead of the new westbound Washington Bridge. Interim RIDOT Director Robert Rocchio said the bridge cannot be taken apart in short pieces over several nights, which is why the agency chose one long closure. He said lingering effects could stretch to about 1 p.m. that Saturday.
Traffic will be sent off the highway and through East Providence, mainly along Warren Avenue and Broadway. Both roads have been busier since the westbound Washington Bridge closed almost three years back. Rocchio said the work is on schedule, and Potter Street will be rebuilt to fit the wider highway. Until it reopens, drivers will cross I-195 on the neighboring Purchase Street bridge. The agency is aiming for 2028 to finish the replacement overpass, the same year the new westbound Washington Bridge is due.
The state lists the replacement Washington Bridge as a $427.9 million project, paid for in part with competitive federal grants and GARVEE bonds. The new span will carry five through lanes and add a westbound entrance ramp at Gano Street and a westbound exit to Waterfront Drive. It is designed for a 100-year life, serving the roughly 80,000 vehicles that cross the bridge each day, with all lanes scheduled to be open by fall 2028.
Section: More Providence RI crime news
Filed under: Providence RI Traffic News
