Interstate 195 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)

Interstate 195
East Providence Expressway
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap I-195 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by RIDOT and MassDOT
Length	44.23 mi[1][2] (71.18 km) 4.3 mi (6.92 km) in RI[1] 39.93 mi (64.26 km) in MA[2]
Existed	1958[citation needed]–present
Major junctions
West end	I-95 / US 6 in Providence, RI
	US 44 in Providence, RI Route 24 in Fall River, MA Route 140 in New Bedford, MA
East end	I-495 / Route 25 in Wareham, MA
Location
States	Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Counties	RI: Providence MA: Bristol, Plymouth
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Rhode Island Routes Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← I-184 RI → Route 195 ← Route 193 MA → Route 197 ← I-95 I-95E, RI → Route 96 ← I-95 I-95E, MA → Route 96

Interstate 195 (I-195) is an Interstate Highway running a combined 44.23 miles (71.18 km) in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It travels from a junction with I-95 in Providence, Rhode Island, east to a junction with I-495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts. It runs east–west and passes through the cities of Fall River, Massachusetts, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The portion of I-195 in East Providence is also known as the East Providence Expressway.

I-195 provides a direct highway route from Rhode Island to Cape Cod and, via I-95, from New York and Connecticut as well.

Route description[]

I-195 begins at I-95 at a semi-directional T interchange, which along with a new bridge over the Providence River, was part of the large Iway construction project. At this point US Route 6 (US 6) is also signed along I-195. The complex Iway interchange includes several ramps for local streets (labeled exit 1A and 1B) and an interchange with I-95, which is unnumbered. US 44 and US 1A join at the next interchange with Gano Street and Main Street, labeled exits 1C, 1D, and 1E. The road crosses the Washington Bridge over the Seekonk River into East Providence. US 44 leaves the freeway at Exit 1C in East Providence. Exit 1D is a partial interchange with Route 103 while Exit 2A provides access to several local streets in East Providence. Exits 2B-C provide access to Route 114, which is also where US 6 and US 1A leave the freeway. I-195 then leaves Rhode Island, having gone 4.30 miles (6.92 km).

I-195 enters Seekonk, Massachusetts and interchanges with Route 114A at exit 1. There are two interchanges in Swansea, exit 5 for Massachusetts Route 136 and exit 8 for US 6. Access to the town of Somerset and the village of Ocean Grove in Swansea is via Exit 10 (Route 103). I-95 crosses the Braga Bridge over the Taunton River, entering Fall Fiver. The bridge passes over Battleship Cove and the USS Massachusetts, after which exit 11 provides access to Route 79 and Route 138. Exits 12 and 13 provide access to downtown Fall River streets, while a brief concurrency with Route 24 exists between exit 14A (24 South) and 14B (24 North). Passing the Watuppa Ponds, I-195 enters Westport, where exit 15 is a partial interchange with Sanford Road, and exit 16 marks the northern terminus of Route 88. Exits 19 and 22 provide access to local roads in Dartmouth, while shortly after entering the port city of New Bedford there's a full cloverleaf interchange with the Route 140 freeway (exits 24 A-B). Exits 25-29 are partial interchanges with several local New Bedford city streets. A bridge over the Acushnet River takes I-195 to the town of Fairhaven, where there is the northern terminus of Route 240 freeway at exit 29. Exit 31 is for North Street in Mattapoisett, exit 35 is Route 105 in Marion, and exit 39 is Route 28 in Wareham. I-195 ends at trumpet interchange with I-495 (exit 40B) and Route 25 (exit 40A) in Wareham, having 39.93 miles (64.26 km) in Massachusetts.

History[]

I-195 in Fall River, photo from 1968

MA-79 split (prior to reconstruction of MA-79 interchange) at I-195 near the Braga Bridge

Predating I-195 were two sections of road—Fox Point Boulevard and the Washington Bridge. The Washington Bridge, crossing the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence, was opened on September 25, 1930, replacing an 1885 swing bridge with a higher bascule bridge. A new eastbound bridge opened in November 1968.^[3]

Fox Point Boulevard, later George M. Cohan Boulevard, was a surface boulevard connecting the Washington Bridge west to the Point Street Bridge and downtown Providence. It was built with no cross traffic by using U-turn ramps in the median to reverse direction. This was the last part in Providence to be built as a freeway, opened in December 1968.

The first freeway section came off the west end of Cohan Boulevard and over the Providence River, ending at the one-way pair of Pine Street and Friendship Street, which opened in November 1958. The ramp to Pine Street has been closed, but the entrance from Friendship Street still exists. The I-95 interchange at this end opened in fall 1964; the Pine Street ramp was kept for a while.

The next section to be constructed was the part in East Providence. It opened to the last exit before the state line on December 15, 1959, and was extended into Massachusetts by August 1960.

Interstate 195 cut through the center of Watchemoket Square, which about thirty years earlier been the heart of downtown East Providence, but was on the decline in the 1950s.^[4] Half of the square was demolished to make way for the highway.^[4]

Before the Interstate Highway System numbering was decided upon, I-195 was planned as a relocation of US 6; in fact, all but the last section was signed as US 6 when built (the first section only eastbound though). In 1957, the number Interstate 95E was assigned, as all intercity routes were numbered before the three-digit Interstate numbering was chosen, and the Providence-New Bedford route was too long to be considered intracity. The I-195 designation was assigned in 1959 with the final numbering. At some time after 1976, the definition of I-195 was extended east to I-495 (which was itself extended).

I-195 still carries US 6, now in both directions, from I-95 to the last interchange before Massachusetts. It also carries US 1A and US 44 over the Washington Bridge and its approaches, though the former has almost no signs.

The Providence River Bridge carried traffic across the Providence River, to its western terminus with Interstate 95. It was demolished in 2010-2011 due to realignment of Interstate 195. The Providence Pedestrian Bridge opened in its place in 2019.

Iway[]

Iway
The rerouted I-195 in downtown Providence runs over the newly completed bridge at bottom, further away from the downtown core. The missing section of the old I-195, right of the Providence River, marks the beginning of the previous highway's demolition.
Coordinates	41°48′45″N 71°21′31″W / 41.8125°N 71.3585°W / 41.8125; -71.3585
Carries	Motor vehicles
Crosses	Providence River
Locale	Providence, Rhode Island, US
Maintained by	RIDOT
Website	www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/project_profiles/ri_iway.aspx
Characteristics
No. of lanes	8
History
Construction end	2010
Construction cost	US$610 million
Opened	2007
Location
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

A before and after map of the project

I-195's stretch through Providence was reconstructed with a $610 million project by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to relocate the Interstate 195 and Interstate 95 intersection.^[5] The relocation made the segment safer for traffic, reunified the Jewellery District with Downcity Providence, and freed up more space. In the process, some 35 buildings, housing over 80 businesses and six residences were demolished.^[6] The new stretch of highway is called the Iway by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and includes a signature bridge over the Providence River^[7] as well as a landscaped pedestrian walkway over the highway. It connects India Point Park to the Fox Point neighborhood. It involved renovating India Point Park and constructing a 50-foot-wide (15 m) pedestrian bridge;^[8] building a signature arch bridge over the Providence River; and improved highway flow, access, and safety, as the existing intersection was not built for modern traffic standards. The previous lane alignment was dangerous and created congestion, as lane shifts were often required to avoid a left sided exit-only lane; moreover, the concrete supports had deteriorated to the point that steel shoring were needed to reinforce the intersection's many bridges.^[9] The demolition of the old road was completed in 2012.^{[10][needs update]}

Background[]

Providence River with Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. The Providence River bridge is just downstream, but not connected to the barrier. The Manchester Street Power Station is on the right.

The view of the bridge from the east bound lanes facing west

The west view of the approach ramps for I-195 (left) and the current right of way for 195 West

In the 1980s, RIDOT reviewed many plans to deal with the aging section of I-195 in Providence, which was built in the 1950s. Along with having to complete numerous repairs on one of the busiest stretches of highway in Rhode Island, traffic volumes had increased tremendously over the years. The highway designed for 75,000 vehicles a day now carries more than 160,000 cars daily.

The old design had other problems. Tight curves, left-hand exits and closely spaced exits had contributed to excessive congestion on the highway, which spilled over onto adjacent highways, causing delays for motorists on I-95, the Route 6/10 connector, and on city streets.

As RIDOT worked on the Iway’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the early 1990s, the highway’s problems were put to paper. The EIS noted deteriorated bridges, substandard roadway alignments, sharp curves and substandard shoulder widths. During the initial stages of the project, DOT worked on a joint project between the School of Architecture at ETH Zürich, and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, Rhode Island to include studies of the Iway in their "Project Providence", an exploration of the city through computer visualization.

RIDOT looked at three alternatives before choosing the one that was built. An alignment just to the north of the current highway was not selected as it would have corrected only the congestion and tight curves on I-195 itself. It would not have dealt with the weaving motorists face due to closely spaced exits at the highway interchange, nor would it have addressed better access to the Eddy Street hospitals campus, and it would have created only limited opportunities for redevelopment as outlined in the Old Harbor Plan. The plan outlines how the land occupied by the existing highway will be reused.

Another idea that was considered was a no-build alternative, one in which the existing alignment would be reconstructed. This would have addressed problems with deteriorated structures, but done nothing about the congestion, weaving conflicts and existing safety hazards. Additionally, traffic would have been severely impacted during construction.

Consideration of these choices led RIDOT to choose the alignment south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. Safety problems and congestion issues could be addressed, and the removal of the old highway would allow for significant redevelopment of the Providence waterfront and fuller implementation of the Old Harbor Plan. Also, the redevelopment would complement other projects including the construction of Memorial Boulevard, Waterplace Park and the Riverwalk system, and the Capital Center projects.

Roadway openings and closings[]

On November 4, 2007, the new Iway bridge opened to eastbound traffic from I-95 north to I-195 east. Old exit 20 from I-95 north to I-195 east remained open for access to I-195 exits 1 and 2. I-195 exit 3 eastbound (Gano St.) became accessible from new Iway bridge only. Five days later, a new onramp from Wickenden and Point Streets to I-195 east opened, and the old onramp closed. On May 19, 2008, a temporary onramp to I-195 east from Hoppin street opened, and on May 22, 2008, the eastbound Exit 3 offramp to Gano street closed, while a new eastbound Exit 1A (old exit 2) opened from Iway bridge to India Point/Gano Street/Wickenden Street. On May 27, 2008, the Friendship Street onramp to I-195 east closed, followed by the closure of the I-95 north exit 20 to old I-195 east, two days later.

On June 13, 2008, the Pine Street overpass over I-95 closed. On October 15, 2008, the New India Point Park pedestrian bridge over I-195 opened, and on October 29, 2008, a temporary ramp opened from Blackstone Street to I-95 south. On November 7, 2008, the onramp from Broad Street to I-95 south closed. By December 6, 2008, the new exit 20 from I-95 south to the new I-195 east opened, and the new onramp from Plain Street to I-195 east also opened. Then, the old I-195 eastbound roadway was closed, including all on and off ramps from old I-195 eastbound.

On June 18, 2009, the new Iway bridge opened to westbound I-195 traffic to I-95 south, while the old I-195 west remained open to funnel traffic to I-95 north. All ramps to/from old I-195 west also remained open. On October 20, 2009, the new Exit 20 from I-95 NB to Point Street opened, and two days later, the new ramps from the Iway bridge to I-95 north and Point Street (Exit 1A) opened. All I-195 west traffic was now using the new highway and the old I-195, and all remaining on-ramps to it, were closed completely. I-195 WB Exit 1C (old exit 2) (South Main St) remained open, however.

A view of Southern Providence, with the Iway bridge in the background

On October 13, 2010, the new Clifford Street bridge over I-95 opened, as well as the new entrance ramp to I-95 NB from Point Street. Two weeks later, on October 19, the new exit 19 ramp from I-95 SB to Borden and Eddy Streets opened, while the old exit 19 ramp remained open temporarily. Demolition of the old right of way started on November 15, 2010, and was completed in September 2011. On October 3, 2011, the last major ramp of the project, the new ramp from I-195 West to the R.I. Hospital area, opened.

Traffic response[]

The first few days of the Iway being opened caused lengthy delays for motorists on I-95 South to I-195 East. This was alleviated by several steps RIDOT took. These included combining two on-ramps into one at their merge point with I-195 East, making minor lane adjustments, and a public education campaign to encourage people to get onto I-95 North and then the Iway as opposed to using exits on the old stretch of I-195 where backups were occurring. These changes shifted traffic to the Iway which had excess capacity. In three days traffic was reduced to original evening congestion levels. By the end of the week, congestion had lessened from original levels.^[11]

The opening of the Iway ramp has eased congestion on I-95 North during the afternoon commute. Originally traffic backed up each evening for approximately 2.2 miles (3.5 km). Long traffic backups on this part of I-95 North are unusual except in times of adverse weather or accidents.

Iway Bridge Float[]

A significant milestone was the floating of the new Providence River Bridge from the Quonset Business Park to its final resting place in Providence. In August 2006, RIDOT orchestrated a series of events to install the 400-foot (120 m) center span for the bridge. The bridge float captured the attention of Rhode Islanders from all over the state who watched on television and read in newspapers about the entire process of raising the bridge, placing it on Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs), rolling it onto two large barges, and floating it up the Bay. The day of the float, thousands of people lined the shores of the Bay to witness history and watch the bridge sail by. The bridge float also attracted the attention of the History Channel, which produced a documentary on the Iway for its “Mega Movers” series.

The following is a timeline of the Providence River Bridge construction and float:

October 2005: Work began on the center span at Pier 2 in the Davisville section of the Quonset Business Park (QBP) in North Kingstown, R.I.
March 2006: Cardi Corporation (lead contractor) completed construction of center span.
August 11, 2006: Kickoff event for dignitaries and media held at Davisville Pier 2.
August 21, 2006: Bridge lifted to a height of 30 feet (9.1 m), followed by placement of SPMTs.
August 25, 2006: Bridge rolled to edge of Pier 2.
August 26, 2006: Bridge loaded onto barges and secured for sea voyage.
August 27, 2006: Bridge leaves QBP for Providence. Barges make nearly twice the expected speed and arrive two hours ahead of schedule.
August 28, 2006: Bridge moved into position at new piers and lowered into place.

Opening-day ceremonies[]

The opening of the Iway was preceded by a public walk on the Iway on October 20, 2007. An estimated 10,000 people attended the event from 9 a.m. to noon. Visitors started lining up one hour before the event start time and RIDOT extended the event by about one hour. Visitors traveled to the site on RIPTA buses from one of two satellite parking locations in Providence, from the Johnson & Wales University Harborside Campus and from the State Offices campus. Once there they received a commemorative program^[12] and walked the length of the new Providence River Bridge was well as approach ramps on both the east and west side of the bridge.

Exit list[]

Massachusetts interchanges were to be renumbered to mileage-based numbering in a project scheduled to begin in 2016, until the project was indefinitely postponed by MassDOT. On November 18, 2019, MassDOT announced the project would begin in late summer 2020.^[13][14] The exit numbers were changed starting on October 25, 2020, and the work was completed on November 6, 2020. Rhode Island interchanges were renumbered to a mileage-based system early in 2020 in a plan announced by RIDOT in September 2017^[15][16] and scheduled to begin on January 28, 2020.^[17][18]

State	County	Location[2]	mi[1][2]	km	Old exit	New exit[19][20]	Destinations[19]	Notes
Rhode Island	Providence	Providence	0.00	0.00			I-95 north / US 6 west – Boston, MA	Western terminus; western end of US 6 concurrency; exit 36A on I-95
			0.40	0.64		1A	Point Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			0.80	1.29		1B	I-95 south / Eddy Street – New York	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; serves Rhode Island Hospital Trauma Center; exit 36C on I-95
			0.80– 1.00	1.29– 1.61	Providence River Bridge (Iway)
			1.10	1.77	2	1A	Gano Street / India Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			1.30	2.09		1C	US 44 west / US 1A south (S. Main Street)	One-way street; western end of US 44/US 1A concurrency; westbound exit only
							US 44 / US 1A (S. Water Street)	One-way street; western end of US 44/US 1A concurrency; eastbound entrance only
			1.50	2.41	3	1D	Gano Street – India Point	Westbound exit and entrance; exit proposed to be replace by exit 1E[21]
			1.60– 1.80	2.57– 2.90	Washington Bridge over the Seekonk River
		East Providence	1.80	2.90		1E	Waterfront Avenue	Proposed replacement for westbound exit 1D[21]
					4	1B-C	US 44 east (Taunton Avenue) / Riverside	Eastern end of US 44 concurrency; Riverside access via Veterans Memorial Parkway; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			1.90	3.06	5	1D	Route 103 east (Warren Avenue)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; western terminus of Route 103
			2.40	3.86	6	2	To Route 103 / US 44 – East Providence	Westbound exit and entrance only
			3.10	4.99		2A	Warren Avenue (Route 103) / Broadway / Pawtucket Avenue (Route 114)	Eastbound exit and entrance only
			3.30	5.31	7	2B	East Shore Expressway to Route 114 south – Barrington	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			3.50	5.63	8	2C	US 6 east to US 1A / Route 114 north (Pawtucket Avenue) – Seekonk MA	Eastern end of US 6/US 1A concurrency; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Runnins River			4.30 0.000	6.92 0.000	Rhode Island–Massachusetts line
Massachusetts	Bristol	Seekonk	0.581	0.935		1	Route 114A – Seekonk, Barrington RI
		Swansea	4.621	7.437	2	5	Route 136 south – Warren RI, Newport RI	Northern terminus of Route 136
			7.470	12.022	3	8	US 6 to Route 118 – Swansea
		Somerset	9.849	15.850	4	10	Route 103 / Lee's River Avenue – Somerset, Ocean Grove	Signed as exits 10A (west) and 10B (east) westbound[19]
		Taunton River			Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge
		Fall River	11.984	19.286	5	11	Route 79 north / Route 138 – Taunton, N. Tiverton R.I.	Entrances have direct right-in/right-out ramps to/from Milliken Boulevard
			12.439	20.019	6	12	Hartwell Street	Eastbound exit only; access via C/D lane[19]
							Pleasant Street	Westbound exit and entrance only; access via C/D lane[19]
			12.711	20.456	7	13	Route 81 south (Plymouth Avenue)	Northern terminus of Route 81; access via C/D lane[19]
			13.769	22.159	8A	14A	Route 24 south – Tiverton, RI, Newport, RI	Western end of Route 24 concurrency; exit 3 on Route 24
			14.609	23.511	8B	14B	Route 24 north – Taunton, Boston	Left exit and entrance eastbound; eastern end of Route 24 concurrency; exit 4 on Route 24
		Westport	15.354	24.710	9	15	Sanford Road – North Westport	Eastbound exit only[19]
			16.343	26.302	10	16	Route 88 south to US 6 – Horseneck Beach	Northern terminus of Route 88
		Dartmouth	19.433	31.274	11	19	Reed Road – , Dartmouth	Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north) westbound[19]
			21.979	35.372	12	22	Faunce Corner Road / Faunce Corner Mall Road – North Dartmouth	Split into exits 22A (F.C. Mall Rd.) and 22B (F.C. Road) westbound[19]
		New Bedford	23.773	38.259	13	24	Route 140 to US 6 – New Bedford, Dartmouth, Taunton	Signed as exits 24A (south) and 24B (north);[19] exits 2A-B on Route 140
			24.627	39.633	14	25	Penniman Street	Eastbound exit[19] and westbound entrance
			25.087	40.374	15	26	Route 18 south – Downtown New Bedford	No access to Route 18 north or from Route 18 south
			25.367	40.824	16	27	Washburn Street	Eastbound exit[19] and entrance
			25.632	41.251	17	28	Coggeshall Street	Westbound exit[19] and entrance
		Fairhaven	27.251	43.856	18	29	Route 240 south – Fairhaven	Northern terminus of Route 240
	Plymouth	Mattapoisett	30.916	49.754	19	31	Mattapoisett, North Rochester	Signed as exits 31A (Mattapoisett) and 31B (N. Rochester)[19]
		Marion	35.133	56.541	20	35	Route 105 – Marion, Rochester
		Wareham	39.233	63.139	21	39	Route 28 – Wareham, South Middleboro
			39.911	64.231	22A	40A	Route 25 east – Cape Cod	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; western terminus of Route 25, exit 1; trumpet interchange.
			39.93	64.26	22B	40B	I-495 north – Marlboro	Eastern terminus of I-195; southern terminus of I-495, exit 1; trumpet interchange.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

Awards[]

On June 9, 2008, RIDOT announced ^[22] that the Iway was nominated for a national award for the Iway bridge float. The competition, America's Transportation Award, is sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AAA. The contest recognizes transportation projects completed on time, on budget or those that demonstrate innovative management. The latter category is the one RIDOT ran for. On August 13, AASHTO announced that the Iway bridge float was one of 10 finalists for the national award. The Iway bridge received an Innovative Management award in the large project category.^[23]

On June 11, 2008, RIDOT was informed^[24] that it was the recipient of a "Bell Ringer" award from the Publicity Club of New England. The award was for the Iway logo with its three arches and the tag line "Yours. Mine. Ours." The award is the highest achievement given by the annual competition, which is the region's premier public relations and communications event.

Light pollution[]

One of the key features of the Iway, the new Providence River Bridge, is illuminated by architectural lighting, making it visible from many points in the city and on the Providence River. There has been criticism^[25] that this lighting has caused a considerable amount of light pollution. This has made it difficult for astronomers in the Providence area to view the night sky. Complaints have been made to the state and in response, lights are turned off at 11 p.m. to save energy and reduce light pollution.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

•  United States portal
•  Rhode Island portal
•  U.S. Roads portal

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iway.

• RIDOT - Relocation of the I-95/I-195 Interchange
• Kurumi
• Bostonroads.com - East Providence Expressway
• Bostonroads.com - I-195 in Massachusetts
• Iway videocasts - RIDOT released a series of videocasts beginning October 1, 2007, in which hosts explain stages in the project's completion