Interstate 295 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)

This article is about the Interstate Highway in eastern Massachusetts. For the state highway in western Massachusetts, see New York State Route 295.

Interstate 295
Providence Beltway
I-295 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by RIDOT and MassDOT
Length	26.5 mi (42.6 km)
Existed	1969–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in Warwick, RI
Major intersections	US 6 / US 6A in Johnston, RI US 44 in Smithfield, RI Route 146 / Route 99 in Lincoln, RI US 1 in North Attleborough, MA
North end	I-95 in Attleboro, MA
Location
Country	United States
States	Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Counties	RI: Kent, Providence MA: Bristol
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
Rhode Island Routes
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 246 RI → Route 401 ← I-291 MA → Route 295

I-295 exit to Rhode Island Route 113 west, West Warwick, Rhode Island

Interstate 295 (I-295), sometimes called the Providence Beltway, is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It is maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning nearly 27 miles (43 km), it forms a western beltway around Providence, Rhode Island, and is a bypass of I-95 as it travels through the capital city. I-895 was proposed as a complementary eastern beltway to complete a full loop around the city in the 1960s but was ultimately scrapped in the 1980s.

The southern terminus of I-295 is at its split from I-95 in Warwick, Rhode Island. Among several state highways, it intersects with US Route 6 (US 6) in Johnston, Rhode Island, and US 44 in Smithfield, Rhode Island, before entering North Attleborough, Massachusetts, from Cumberland, Rhode Island. It intersects with US 1 in North Attleborough before arriving at its northern terminus as it merges into I-95 in Attleboro. I-295 is the first highway in Rhode Island to convert to an exclusive mileage-based exit numbering system, having transitioned from a sequential numbering system in 2017. Exit signs north of the interchange with US 6 previously included both milemarkers and exit numbers before being replaced in 2007.

Route description

Lengths

	mi	km
RI	22.35	35.97
MA	4.23	6.81
Total	26.58	42.78

Rhode Island

I-295 serves as a partial circumferential highway around Providence, bypassing the city to the west and north. The southern terminus of I-295 is located in Warwick (I-95 exit 11 northbound/12B southbound). The complex interchange involves access between I-95, I-295, and Route 113, which is labeled exit 1A (the interchange with I-95 is unnumbered). Immediately after this interchange, I-295 crosses the Blackstone River and passes Warwick Mall, which lies on a property outlined by the interchange and the two highways. The mall is accessed via exit 1B, which provides partial access to Route 2 (northbound I-295 exits to northbound Route 2, while southbound I-295 exits to southbound Route 2). Exits 3A and 3B provide access to Route 37 within the town of Cranston. Exit 6 for Route 14 is next, known locally as Plainfield Pike, which defines the border between Cranston and Johnston. Exit 7 provides access to a local industrial park. There is a complex interchange with US 6 and US 6A in Johnston, labeled exits 9A, 9B, and 9C, which involves near overlap between US 6 and I-295 (US 6 uses the collector–distributor lanes along the side of I-295 briefly, and access from US 6 westbound to I-295 southbound requires the use of a special double-loop ramp at exit 9B). A diamond interchange (exit 10) with Route 5 is the last exit in Johnston, and the highway enters Smithfield and immediately has a cloverleaf interchange (exits 12A and 12B) with US 44. After another cloverleaf interchange (exits 15A and 15B) with Route 7, the highway begins a gentle curve eastward toward Massachusetts. Within the town of Lincoln, I-295 meets Route 146 and Route 99 (exits 18A and 18B). There are two interchanges in the town of Cumberland, being Route 122 (exit 20) and Route 114 (exit 22).

Massachusetts

Entering Massachusetts in the town of North Attleborough, there is a cloverleaf interchange (exits 2A and 2B) with US 1 before reaching its northern terminus (locally eastbound) in Attleboro at exits 4A and 4B with I-95.

History

Main article: Interstate 895 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)

See also: Interstate 84 in Connecticut § 1970s route east of Hartford

In the mid-1950s, the state of Rhode Island introduced plans to build a beltway around Providence, then known as Relocated Rhode Island Route 5 for inclusion in the Interstate Highway System. A modified version of this plan was accepted, with another modification done in 1960 resulting in a planned alignment. Construction began in 1964, and the original route was completed by 1975. The original intention was to have I-295 act as a full ring road around the Providence metropolitan area with the alignment roughly following Rhode Island Route 37 across Narragansett Bay and continuing in a northern direction with a major interchange located at I-195 exit 2 in Swansea, Massachusetts, before heading west toward Attleboro. Due to opposition from communities in the proposed alignment, cancelation occurred in 1982.

The original alignment of I-84 called for an east–west right-of-way from the Rhode Island and Connecticut state line (Willimantic, Connecticut, and Foster, Rhode Island) to Johnston, Rhode Island, through the Scituate Reservoir. The connection with I-295 was planned as a full interchange with flyover ramps. Due to fears of runoff affecting the Scituate Reservoir, this alignment of I-84 was canceled. This interchange (exits 9A, 9B, and 9C) currently acts as multiplex for US 6 with a partial interchange with Rhode Island Route 10 further down US 6. The ramp that was originally going to be used to merge onto I-84 west from I-295 north has been converted to a turnaround ramp (exit 9B) from I-295 north to I-295 South.

Exit list

In 2016, it was announced that both Rhode Island and Massachusetts interchanges were to receive new exit numbers based on route mileage in accordance with federal standards. Massachusetts was scheduled to start in 2016, though the project was indefinitely postponed in mid-2016. On November 18, 2019, MassDOT confirmed the project will begin in late summer 2020. Massachusetts exits were renumbered over two nights on January 3–4, 2021. Rhode Island exits were renumbered from November 27, 2017, to December 8, 2017.

State	County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Rhode Island	Kent	Warwick	0.00	0.00	—	—	I-95 south – New York	Includes a ramp from I-95 south to I-295 north, exit 28 on I-95
			0.70	1.13	1	1A	Route 113 west – West Warwick	no entrance to northbound I-295 from Route 113
			1.10	1.77	2	1B	Route 2 north – Cranston, Warwick Mall	Northbound signage
			1.50	2.41			Route 2 – Warwick	Southbound Signage; Southbound exit reconfigured to provide missing left turn movements at Route 2 as of October 9, 2021
	Providence	Cranston	3.70	5.95	3	3	Route 37 / Phenix Avenue – Cranston, T. F. Green Airport	Signed as exits 3A (east) and 3B (west), exit 1A-B on Route 37
		Johnston	6.50	10.46	4	6	Route 14 (Plainfield Pike)
			7.60	12.23	5	7	Rhode Island Resource Recovery Industrial Park	Opened in 2005
			8.80	14.16	6	9	US 6 / US 6A east – Providence, Hartford, CT	Signed as exits 9A (US 6 east), 9B (northbound exit ramp to I-295 south), and 9C (US 6 west / US 6A east)
			10.60	17.06	—	10	Route 5 – Johnston, Smithfield	Opened July 28, 2018
		Smithfield	12.20	19.63	7	12	US 44 – North Providence, Smithfield	Signed as exits 12A (east) and 12B (west)
			15.40	24.78	8	15	Route 7 – North Smithfield, North Providence	Signed as exits 15A (south) and 15B (north)
		Lincoln	18.70	30.09	9	18	Route 146 / Route 99 north – Lincoln, Woonsocket	Signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (north); Route 99 not signed; exits 8A-B on Route 146
		Cumberland	21.10	33.96	10	20	Route 122 – Cumberland
			22.80	36.69	11	22	Route 114 – Cumberland
			23.50 0.00	37.82 0.00	Rhode Island–Massachusetts state line
Massachusetts	Bristol	North Attleborough	1.86	2.99	1	2	US 1 – Pawtucket, RI, North Attleboro	Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north)
		Attleboro	4.03	6.49	2	4	I-95 – Boston, Providence, RI	Signed as exits 4A (south) and 4B (north); exit 6 on I-95
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access