Interstate 95 in Rhode Island

"Route 84 (Rhode Island)" redirects here. For the once-planned Interstate Highway with the same route designation, see Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) § History.

Interstate 95
I-95 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by RIDOT
Length	42.36 mi (68.17 km)
Existed	1957–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in North Stonington, CT
Major intersections	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 US 6 / Route 10 in Providence Route 146 in Providence
North end	I-95 in Attleboro, MA
Location
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
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 US 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 metropolitan area.

South of Warwick, I-95 does not follow US 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 New England 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 US 1 even before any part of I-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. The existing Connecticut Route 84 in Connecticut was rerouted to use the new road (now Connecticut Route 184), and the short piece in Rhode Island was also numbered Rhode Island Route 84 (Route 84). (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 through 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 I-95 (exit 7), and continues for 1.85 miles (2.98 km) before connecting with Route 3 in West Warwick for a quarter mile (0.40 km). New London Turnpike turns into New London Ave and continues straight for 2.25 miles (3.62 km) before connecting with Providence Street (Route 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.

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).

The I-95 designation was approved on June 27, 1958. The section in southern Rhode Island was temporarily designated Rhode Island Route 95 (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. Connecticut also renumbered their section of Connecticut Route 84 to Connecticut Route 95 at that time.

I-95 in Connecticut was finished December 12, 1964, to the Rhode Island state line, where it connected to the older Route 95 divided highway. 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. 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. 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 I-95, as the whole road was now a freeway.

An interchange with the New London Turnpike named exit 21 (old exit 7) was added to the Kent County Freeway by 1972. In 1983, a new interchange with Hopkins Hill Road named exit 19 (old exit 6A) opened.

Providence area

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

Among the areas affected was Cathedral Square, which had been a bustling center of civic life before World War II. I-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.

The I-95 15 Project will replace bridges along both RI 10 and I-95 in Providence with construction starting in 2024 and anticipated completion in 2031.

Pawtucket area

The people of Pawtucket feared the construction of I-95 as early as 1949. Editions of The Times and The Providence Journal in 1949 recall how neighbors in the Woodlawn section of Pawtucket feared the construction of the highway. According to Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) blueprints, the highway was originally planned for the west side of Pawtucket, avoiding the Blackstone River. The highway was originally designed to be constructed east of the New York and New Haven Railroad tracks and create underpasses on Mineral Spring Avenue, Broad Street, and Dexter Street. The highway was meant to travel east of Pawtucket/Central Falls station and into South Attleboro, Massachusetts.

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

Exit list

RIDOT converted exit number from sequential to mileage-based numbering per federal highway standards. Exit renumbering began on August 28, 2022, and completed on November 3, 2022.

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Washington	Hopkinton	0.0	0.0	—	—	I-95 south – New London, New York	Continuation into Connecticut
		0.7	1.1	1	1	Route 3 – Hopkinton, Westerly
		4.5	7.2	2	4	Hopkinton, Hope Valley	Via Woodville Alton Road
	Richmond	6.4	10.3	Rest area and welcome center (northbound)
		7.3	11.7	3	7	Route 138 – South Kingstown, Wyoming
		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	14.0	22.5	5	14	Route 102 – North Kingstown, West Greenwich, Exeter	Signed as exits 14A (south) and 14B (north)
		18.2	29.3	6	18	Route 3 – Coventry, West Greenwich
		19.9	32.0	6A	19	Hopkins Hill Road	Opened 1983
		21.4	34.4	7	21	Coventry, West Warwick	Access via New London Turnpike
	Warwick	23.9	38.5	8	24A	Route 2 to Route 4 – East Greenwich, West Warwick	No northbound entrance; signed as exits 24A (south) and 24B (north) northbound
		24.8	39.9	9	24B	Route 4 south – North Kingstown	Southbound left exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of Route 4
		26.9	43.3	10	27	Route 117 – West Warwick, Warwick	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west) southbound
		27.6	44.4	11-12B	28A	I-295 north – Woonsocket	Northbound left exit; no northbound entrance; southern terminus of I-295
		28.0	45.1	12A	28B	Route 113 east to Route 5 – Warwick
		28.5	45.9	12B	28C	Route 113 west to Route 2 – West Warwick	No northbound exit
		29.5	47.5	13	29	US 1 – T.F. Green Airport	Access via Airport Connector Road
		31.5– 31.7	50.7– 51.0	14	31A-B	Route 37 to US 1 / Route 2 – Warwick, Cranston	Signed as exits 31A (east) and 31B (west); exits 2A-B on Route 37
		31.9	51.3	15	31C	Jefferson Boulevard
Providence	Cranston	33.2	53.4	16	33	Route 10 north to Route 2 (Reservoir Avenue) – Cranston	Exits 1B-C on Route 10; signed as exits 33A (north) and 33B (south)
		33.8	54.4			US 1 (Elmwood Avenue) Route 10 south to Route 12 (Park Avenue)	Northbound exit only; signed as exit 33B No northbound exit access; signed as exit 33A southbound
	Providence	34.2	55.0	17	34	US 1 (Elmwood Avenue)	Southbound exit only; other movements via Route 10
		35.3	56.8	18	35	Thurbers Avenue to US 1A
		36.2	58.3	19-20	36A	I-195 east / US 6 east – East Providence, Cape Cod	Southern terminus of US 6 concurrency; western terminus of I-195
		36.3	58.4	20 19	36B	Point Street Eddy Street	Northbound Signage Southbound Signage
		37.0	59.5	21	37A	Broadway	Northbound exit only
		37.5	60.4			Atwells Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		37.2– 37.8	59.9– 60.8	22A	37B	Memorial Boulevard – Downtown Providence	Accessible from the Providence Viaduct
				22B	37C	US 6 west / Route 10 south – Hartford, CT	Northern terminus of US 6 concurrency to the 6/10 connector, Accessible from the Providence Viaduct
				22C	37D	Providence Place	Accessible from the Providence Viaduct
		38.0	61.2	23	38	Route 146 north to US 44 – Woonsocket, State Offices	Northbound signage; signed as exits 38A (Route 146) and 38B (US 44); southern terminus of Route 146
		38.5	62.0			Charles Street (Route 246) to Route 146 north	Southbound signage
		39.0	62.8	24	39A	Branch Avenue
		39.7	63.9	25	39B-C	Route 126 (Smithfield Avenue) / US 1 (North Main Street)	Signed as exits 39B (US 1) and 39C (Route 126) northbound
	Pawtucket	40.6	65.3	26	40	Route 122 (Lonsdale Avenue / Main Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		41.4	66.6	27	41(A)	US 1 / Route 15 – Pawtucket, North Providence	Southern terminus of US 1 concurrency; signed as exit 41 southbound
		41.8	67.3	28	41B	Route 114 (School Street)	No southbound exit
		42.4	68.2	29	42	US 1 (Broadway) / Route 15 / Cottage Street – Downtown Pawtucket	Northern terminus of US 1 concurrency; signed as exits 42A (US 1) and 42B (Cottage) northbound; signed for Route 15 southbound
		43.0	69.2	30	43	East Street / Roosevelt Avenue – Central Falls
		43.3	69.7	—	—	I-95 north	Continuation into Massachusetts
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Tolls

High-speed toll gantries were installed at several locations along I-95 between 2018 and 2020. Toll rates at each point varied between $2.25 and $9.50. Tolls were collected only from commercial trucks pulling trailers. Federal judges ordered Rhode Island officials on September 21, 2022, to stop collecting truck-only tolls due to the long-hauling trucking industry's complaint that the highway charges were unconstitutional and unfair.

External links

• Wolke, Richard. "Building Route 95 – Part 1". Hopkinton Historical Association. Hopkinton Historical Association. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
• Prescott, Richard G. "Building Route 95 Part II". Hopkinton Historical Association. Hopkinton Historical Association. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.