EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Drivers crossing East Providence on I-195 will lose both directions overnight Friday after state highway crews take the Potter Street overpass out of service for a planned tear-down.
RIDOT set the hard close for 10 p.m. Friday beside the Taunton Avenue interchange and expects every lane back Saturday by midday. The overnight window is meant to finish the span removal in one push instead of weeks of staggered lane hits.
The work feeds the Washington Bridge rebuild. Over the coming 12 to 18 months, crews will put up a replacement Potter Street crossing so westbound I-195 can widen, including space for another westbound lane and a Waterfront Drive exit. The larger rebuild is tracked through late 2028 after the westbound Washington Bridge shut in December 2023 over failing components, with the construction package listed near $427.9 million.
Eastbound traffic will leave at Exit 1D and roll along Warren Avenue about a mile before rejoining the freeway. Westbound traffic will peel off at Exit 2 onto Broadway, then use Warren Avenue for roughly three-quarters of a mile and re-enter on a temporary ramp. Broadway between Warren Avenue and Freeborn Avenue will stay blocked, and three westbound on-ramps will remain shut during the window.
Interim RIDOT Director Robert Rocchio said the Friday overnight stretch is the lightest of the week and that the agency needs about three of every 10 regular users to stay off the corridor. Without that diversion, he warned, local streets could clog fast.
Mayor Bob DaSilva said roughly 30 extra police and traffic-control workers will cover the Warren Avenue corridor, with an added rescue unit on duty. He called the disruption necessary and said the department leafleted homes and shops beforehand. A flood watch covers the state from early Friday into Saturday morning, with about 2 to 4 inches of rain possible; RIDOT said wet weather usually does not stop demolition.
Section: More Providence RI crime news
Filed under: Providence RI Traffic News
