Rhode Island Route 146

Route 146
Route 146 highlighted in red, Route 146A in blue
Route information
Maintained by RIDOT
Length	16.24 mi[1] (26.14 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in Providence
Major intersections	Route 15 in North Providence Route 116 in Lincoln I-295 in Lincoln Route 99 in Lincoln Route 146A in North Smithfield
North end	Route 146 at the Massachusetts state line in North Smithfield
Location
Counties	Providence
Highway system
Rhode Island Routes ← Route 142 → Route 152

Route 146 is a limited-access road in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). Spanning approximately 16 miles (26 km) along a northwest–southeast axis, it links the cities of Providence, Woonsocket, and Worcester, Massachusetts.

The southern terminus of Route 146 is located at Interstate 95 (I-95) in Providence. The majority of the route is a controlled-access highway, with the exception of at-grade crossings and driveway access in the towns of North Smithfield and Lincoln. The northern terminus is located at the Rhode Island–Massachusetts border in Millville, where it transitions into Massachusetts Route 146 and continues northbound towards the Massachusetts Turnpike in Millbury and I-290 in Worcester.

Route description[]

Route 146 begins in downtown Providence at I-95 northbound Exit 23 (there is no direct access from I-95 southbound, Exit 23 access to Route 146 is via surface streets). Locally it is known as Old Louisquisset Pike, and is a narrow 4-lane freeway with no shoulders and a simple Jersey barrier median separating oncoming traffic. The first two interchanges are partial access only, with Rhode Island Route 7 (Douglas Avenue) and Rhode Island Route 246 (Charles Street) and provide access between Route 146 and I-95 via surface streets for where there is no direct access (southbound I-95 to northbound 146, and southbound 146 to northbound I-95). The first complete interchange is a diamond interchange with Branch Avenue, followed by a partial interchange with Rhode Island Route 15 (no northbound entrance to Route 146). The next interchange, with Route 246 a second time, provides the access missing from the Route 15 interchange.

At this point, now in North Providence the "Old Louisquisset Pike" designation leaves to follow Route 246, and the 146 freeway becomes the Eddie Dowling Highway. Near the southern boundary of Lincoln, there is a southbound-only offramp (no other access) with Route 246, while the northbound side abuts Olney Pond in the Lincoln Woods State Park. Two partial cloverleaf interchanges follow with Twin River Road and Rhode Island Route 123/Breakneck Hill Road. The next interchange northbound is a right-in/right-out terminus of Sherman Avenue, while southbound has access to 246 here. A single onramp provides Wilbur Avenue an entrance to northbound 146 next, then a modified cloverleaf interchange with Rhode Island Route 116, followed shortly by a full cloverleaf interchange with I-295 and the southern terminus of Rhode Island Route 99, which is a short connector freeway to the city of Woonsocket. Route 99 access is a northbound exit/southbound entrance only, the other directions need to use surface streets for access.

North of this interchange, the road turns into a divided boulevard with at-grade crossings and driveway access through the southern part of the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island. A stoplight marks the only major intersection, an at-grade crossing with Sayles Hill Road, which doubles back and has a right in/right out interchange with southbound 146. At the partial interchange with Rhode Island Route 146A (northbound exit and southbound entrance) the freeway resumes, now called the North Smithfield Expressway, which has three interchanges in the town: Rhode Island Route 104, Pound Hill Road, and a complex interchange with School Street and 146A that also provides access to Rhode Island Route 5 and Rhode Island Route 102. Approximately two miles north of this interchange, the freeway continues into Massachusetts as Massachusetts Route 146, the Worcester/Providence Pike.

History[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (June 2012)

Prior to the construction of the two freeway sections, Route 146 used present-day Route 246 and Route 146A. The only part of the original alignment still in use is the non-freeway section between Interstate 295/Route 99 and Route 146A in the southern part of North Smithfield.

In May 2019, Route 146 received mile-based exit numbers. Previously, the exits were unnumbered.

Future[]

In May 2019, the Rhode Island Senate announced that the state would borrow $200 million to reconfigure I-95 through Downtown Providence, near the southern terminus of Route 146. The replacement of the Providence Viaduct with twin bridges is intended to alleviate the bottleneck created by traffic entering I-95 from the US 6 and RI 10, and exiting towards RI 146 and US 44. The project is expected to cost $250 million.^[2]

RIDOT erected two toll gantries in 2019, one in Lincoln and one in North Smithfield, for truck-only electronic toll collection.^[3]

Exit list[]

Exits were unnumbered until Summer 2019, when RIDOT added mileage-based exit numbers to conform to federal highway standards. ^[4] The entire route is in Providence County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Exit[4]	Destinations	Notes
Providence	0.00	0.00	–	I-95 south to I-195 east – Downtown Providence	Southern terminus; exit 23 on I-95
	0.30	0.48	1A	Route 246 (Charles Street) / Admiral Street – State Offices	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	0.40	0.64	–	Route 7 (Douglas Avenue)	Southbound entrance only
	1.40	2.25	1B	Branch Avenue	Signed as exit 1 northbound
North Providence	2.50	4.02	2	Route 15 (Mineral Spring Avenue) – North Providence, Pawtucket	No northbound entrance
	2.90	4.67	–	Route 246 (Charles Street)	Entrance ramps only
Lincoln	4.00	6.44	4A	Route 246 (Old Louisquisset Pike)	Southbound exit only
	4.50	7.24	4B	Twin River Road	Signed as exit 4 northbound
	5.00	8.05	5	Route 123 (Breakneck Hill Road)
	6.40	10.30	6	Route 246 (Old Louisquisset Pike) / Sherman Avenue	Signed for Route 246 southbound, Sherman Avenue northbound
	6.70	10.78	–	Wilbur Road	Northbound entrance only
	7.40	11.91	7	Route 116 – Lincoln, Smithfield	Signed as exits 7A (north) and 7B (south); southbound exit 7B also provides access to Route 246 via collector/distributor lanes shared with exit 8
			Truck-only electronic toll gantry ($3.50)[5]
	8.50	13.68	8	I-295 – Warwick, Boston, MA	Signed as exits 8A (north) and 8B (south); exit 18 on I-295
	8.80	14.16	8C	Route 99 north to Route 122 – Woonsocket, Cumberland	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; accessed from the collector–distributor lanes shared with exit 8
	8.90	14.32	Northern terminus of freeway section
	9.00	14.48	9	Reservoir Road	Southbound exit and entrance; northbound entrance from Old Great Road
	9.70	15.61	–	Sayles Hill Road to Route 99	At-grade intersection
North Smithfield	10.50	16.90	–	Sayles Hill Road	Interchange; southbound exit and entrance
	10.60	17.06	10	Route 146A north – Woonsocket, Park Square	Northbound exit and southbound entrance with southbound u-turn
	10.70	17.22	Southern terminus of freeway section
			Truck-only electronic toll gantry ($6.75)[5]
	12.10	19.47	11	Route 104 – Woonsocket, North Smithfield
	13.40	21.57	13	Pound Hill Road – North Smithfield	Access to Industrial Drive and CVS Distribution Center
	14.30	23.01	14	Route 146A – North Smithfield, Burrillville
	16.24	26.14	–	Route 146 north – Worcester	Continuation into Massachusetts
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened

Route 146A[]

Route 146A is a numbered state highway running 5.9 miles (9.5 km) in Rhode Island. It was designated as Route 146 before the construction of the North Smithfield Expressway. The road follows a former stagecoach path through historic Union Village in North Smithfield. This road was known as "the Great Road". The northern end of the road crosses the state line near Buxton Street at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. This section was known as Ironstone, after good quality bog iron ore found near here.

It takes the following route through the state:

• North Smithfield: 5.9 miles (9.5 km); Route 146 to Massachusetts state line at Route 146A
  • Eddie Dowling Highway, Smithfield Road, Great Road, Victory Highway, North Main Street and Quaker Highway

Major intersections
The entire route is in Providence County.

Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
North Smithfield	0.0	0.0	Route 146 south – Providence	U-turn to Route 146 north
North Smithfield–Woonsocket line	1.2	1.9	Route 104 north (Park Avenue)	Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 104
	1.6	2.6	Route 104 south (Greenville Road)	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 104
North Smithfield	3.9	6.3	Route 146 – Providence, Worcester, MA	Interchange
	5.2	8.4	Route 5 south (Victory Highway) / Route 102 south (North Main Street)	Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 5, north end of Route 102
	5.3	8.5	Route 5 north (Central Street)	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 5
	5.9	9.5	Route 146A north – Uxbridge	Continuation into Massachusetts
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also[]

•  U.S. Roads portal

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

• 2019 Highway Map, Rhode Island