Rdxfbgrtj

Interstate 95
I-95 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by RIDOT
Length	43.3 mi[1] (69.7 km)
Existed	1957–present
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in North Stonington, CT
	Route 4 in Warwick I‑295 in Warwick Route 37 in Warwick Route 10 in Cranston US 1 in Providence I‑195 / US 6 in Providence Route 146 in Providence
North end	I‑95 in Attleboro, MA
Location
Counties	Washington, Kent, Providence
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Rhode Island Routes ← Route 94 I‑95E →

Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the east coast of the United States, running generally southwest-northeast through the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It runs from the border with Connecticut near Westerly, through Warwick and Providence, and to the Massachusetts state line in Pawtucket. It has two auxiliary routes, both of which enter Massachusetts—I-195: a spur from Providence east to Cape Cod, and I-295, a western bypass of the Providence-Pawtucket area.

South of Warwick, I-95 does not follow U.S. Route 1 (US 1), which it generally replaced in New England. It instead takes a shorter inland route, parallel to Route 3. Route 3 was designated Route 1A in 1922, a New England Interstate Route, but it has never been a U.S. Route.

History

Southern Rhode Island

Junction with Route 37 in Warwick

The diagonal corridor of Route 3 was a well-traveled shortcut to the older U.S. Route 1 even before any part of Interstate 95 was built. In the 1930s, a further cutoff was built in southeastern Connecticut and southwestern Rhode Island, joining Old Mystic, Connecticut to Route 3 in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. The existing Route 84 in Connecticut was rerouted to use the new road (now Route 184), and the short piece in Rhode Island was also numbered Route 84.^[2] (This alignment had been the Hopkinton and Richmond Turnpike - better known as the New London Turnpike - but had fallen into disrepair.) The right of way of New London turnpike goes though the Big river management area (as a dirt road), crosses division road as a four-way intersection with the North side of the turnpike paved, has an interchange with Interstate 95 (exit 7), continues for 1.85 miles before connecting with Route 3 in West Warwick for a ¼ mile. New London Turnpike turns into New London Ave and continues straight for 2¼ miles before connecting with Providence street (RI-33). It follows Providence Street until it hits the Meshanticut Interchange.

The first section of what is now I-95 was planned as an upgrade and relocation of Route 84 and Route 3 from the state line north of Westerly to existing Route 3 of Richmond. The short Route 84 was widened to a four-lane divided road with one intersection at Gray Lane. Instead of merging with Route 3, it was modified to continue northeast, passing under Route 3 with a folded diamond interchange (modern day exit 1). The rest of the new road was designated Route 3 once it was completed on December 12, 1955. It was not built to freeway standards, only having interchanges at Route 3 in Hopkinton and Route 138 in Richmond (a cloverleaf) (modern day exit 3), as well as a bridge over the Wood River and Mechanic Street.^[3][4]

A section of freeway (known as the Kent County Freeway) opened in July 1958, running from Route 3 at Kitts Corner northeast across the Big River (modern day exit 6) and east across Route 3 to Route 2 on the West Warwick-Warwick line (modern day exit 8). Its west end was a simple intersection with old Route 3, in which only northbound traffic could continue on the old road — southbound traffic had to enter the new freeway east of the Big River. The only two interchanges were with Route 3 east of the Big River (a diamond interchange) and with Route 2 at its east end (a four-ramp interchange providing half the ramps of a cloverleaf).^[4][5]

The Interstate 95 designation was approved on June 27, 1958.^[6] The section in southern Rhode Island was temporarily designated Route 95 until it could be upgraded to a freeway. This route ran from the Connecticut state line along what had been Route 84, continuing along the Relocated Route 3 to north of Richmond, along normal Route 3 to Kitts Corner, and along the new freeway east to Route 2. As much as possible, Route 3 was moved back to the old road; it only used the new freeway by necessity in the area near Kitts Corner and over the Big River.^[7] Connecticut also renumbered their section of Route 84 to Route 95 at that time.^[2]

Interstate 95 in Connecticut was finished December 12, 1964 to the Rhode Island state line, where it connected to the older Route 95 divided highway.^[8] The old road from the border to Gray Lane was combined with the frontage road built when Route 84 was upgraded to form what is now known as Extension 184. The portion from the Connecticut state line to Route 3 north of Richmond was upgraded to a freeway with construction ending May 1968.^[5] To the north, that freeway was connected with the Kent County Freeway by a new section, opened November 22, 1969 as the last section of I-95 in Rhode Island.^[3] The connection to Route 3 at Kitts Corner was removed, and Route 3 was moved back to the old road over the Big River. Route 95 was renumbered Interstate 95, as the whole road was now a freeway.

An interchange with the New London Turnpike was added to the Kent County Freeway by 1972.^[4] In 1983, a new interchange with Hopkins Hill Road opened.^[3]

Providence area

The construction of I-95 split the city of Providence in two, cutting off the city's western neighborhoods from downtown.

Among the areas affected was Cathedral Square, which had been a bustling center of civic life before World War II. Interstate 95, constructed adjacent to Cathedral Square, changed the area's character forever. A 1972 redesign by I.M. Pei attempted to revitalize the Square but failed.^[9]

Pawtucket area

The people of Pawtucket feared the construction of I-95 as early as 1949. Editions of the Pawtucket Times and Providence Journal in 1949 recalls how neighbors in the Woodlawn section of Pawtucket feared the construction of the highway. According to Rhode Island Department of Transportation blueprints, the highway was originally planned for the west side of Pawtucket, avoiding the Pawtucket River. The highway was originally designed to be constructed east of the New York-New Haven railroad tracks and create underpasses on Mineral Spring Avenue, Broad Street, and Dexter Street. The highway was meant to travel east of the Pawtucket-Central Falls train station and into South Attleboro, Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]}

The Pawtucket River Bridge is part of Interstate 95 and has been replaced.

Exit list

Exit numbers are sequential, but are to be replaced with mileage based numbers as per MUTCD 2009 standards by 2020.^[10]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Old exit[11]	New exit[citation needed]	Destinations[1]	Notes
Washington	Hopkinton	0.0	0.0	–	–	I-95 south – New London, New York City	Continuation into Connecticut
		0.7	1.1	1	1	Route 3 – Hopkinton, Westerly
		4.5	7.2	2	4	Hope Valley, Alton	Via Woodville Alton Road
	Richmond	6.4	10.3	Rest Area and welcome center - Northbound (closed September 2011, reopened September 2016)
		7.1– 7.5	11.4– 12.1	3	7	Route 138 – South Kingstown, Wyoming, Hope Valley	Signed as exits 7A (east) and 7B (west)
		9.0	14.5	4	9	Route 3 to Route 165 – Arcadia, Exeter	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		10.7	17.2	Parking area and weigh station
Kent	West Greenwich	13.6– 14.3	21.9– 23.0	5	14	Route 102 – North Kingstown, West Greenwich, Foster, Exeter, North Kingstown	Signed as exits 14A (south) and 14B (north)
		17.9– 18.4	28.8– 29.6	6	18	Route 3 – Coventry, West Greenwich
		19.6– 20.1	31.5– 32.3	6A	20	Hopkins Hill Road
		21.4	34.4	7	21	Coventry, West Warwick	Access via New London Turnpike
	Warwick	23.7– 24.1	38.1– 38.8	8	24A NB 24 A/B SB	Route 2 to Route 4 – East Greenwich, West Warwick	Signed as exits 24A (south) and 24B (north) northbound
		24.8	39.9	9	24B	Route 4 south – North Kingstown	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of Route 4
		26.6– 27.2	42.8– 43.8	10	27	Route 117 – West Warwick, Warwick	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west) southbound
		27.6	44.4	11	28A	I‑295 north – Woonsocket	Southbound exit is via exit 28B; southern terminus of I-295
		28.0	45.1	12	28B	Route 113 east to Route 5 – Warwick	Signed as exit 28A southbound
		28.5	45.9		28A	Route 113 west / I‑295 north – West Warwick, Woonsocket	Southbound exit only
		29.2– 29.8	47.0– 48.0	13	29	US 1 – T.F. Green Airport	Access via Airport Connector Road
		30.7– 31.7	49.4– 51.0	14	31	Route 37 to US 1 / Route 2 – Warwick, Cranston	Signed as exits 31A (east) and 31B (west); exits 2B-C on RI 37
				15	31C	Jefferson Boulevard	Northbound exit ramp is shared with exit 15A-B
Providence	Cranston	33.2	53.4	16	33 NB 33A-B SB	Route 10 west to Route 2 (Reservoir Avenue) – Cranston	Northbound signage; exits 2A-B on RI 10.
		33.8	54.4			Route 10 to Route 12 (Park Avenue)	Southbound signage
	Providence	34.2	55.0	17	34	US 1 (Elmwood Avenue)	Southbound exit only; other movements via Route 10
		35.0– 35.5	56.3– 57.1	18	35	Thurbers Avenue to US 1A
		35.7	57.5	19	36A	I‑195 east / US 6 east – East Providence, Cape Cod	Exit 1B on I-195 westbound to 95 northbound; northbound exit & southbound entrance.
		36.1	58.1		36B	Eddy Street	Exit 1A on I-195 westbound; Southbound exit only
		36.4	58.6	20	36B	Point Street	Exit 1C on I-195 westbound; Northbound exit and entrance
		36.6	58.9		36A	I‑195 east / US 6 east – East Providence, Cape Cod	Southern terminus of concurrency with US 6; Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		37.0	59.5	21	37A	Broadway	Northbound exit and entrance
		37.3	60.0			Atwells Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		37.2– 37.8	59.9– 60.8	22A	37B	Memorial Boulevard – Downtown Providence
				22B	37C	US 6 west / Route 10 south – Hartford, CT	Northern terminus of concurrency with US 6
				22C	37D	Providence Place
		38.0	61.2	23	38A	Route 146 north to US 44 – Woonsocket, State Offices	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of Route 146
		38.5	62.0			Route 246 (Charles St) to Route 146 north	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		38.8	62.4	24	38B	Branch Avenue
		39.4– 40.0	63.4– 64.4	25	39	Route 126 (Smithfield Avenue) / US 1 (North Main Street)	Signed as exits 39A (US 1) and 39B (Route 126) northbound
	Pawtucket	40.6	65.3	26	40	Route 122 (Lonsdale Avenue / Main Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		41.1– 41.6	66.1– 66.9	27	41A	US 1 south / Route 15 – Downtown Pawtucket, North Providence	Southern terminus of US 1 concurrency; signed as exit 41 southbound
		41.4– 41.7	66.6– 67.1	28	41B	Route 114 (School Street)	No southbound exit
		42.1– 42.6	67.8– 68.6	29	42	US 1 north (Broadway) / Route 15 / Cottage Street – North Providence, Pawtucket	Northern terminus of concurrency with US 1
		42.7– 43.2	68.7– 69.5	30	43	East Street / Roosevelt Avenue – Central Falls
		43.3	69.7	–	–	I‑95 north – Boston	Continuation into Massachusetts
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 95 in Rhode Island.

• 
  Wolke, Richard. "Building Route 95 – Part 1". Hopkinton Historical Association. Hopkinton Historical Association. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  


• 
  Prescott, Richard G. "Building Route 95 Part II". Hopkinton Historical Association. Hopkinton Historical Association. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  

Interstate 95
Previous state: Connecticut	Rhode Island	Next state: Massachusetts