Last major phase of RI highway project set to open
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Special Section: Iway
Related Site: Department of transportation
Published: October 13, 2009
PROVIDENCE—The last major segment of a Rhode Island highway relocation project is opening next week.
State transportation officials say a new ramp linking Interstate 195 West to Interstate 95 North will be open in time for the morning commute next Tuesday.
The new ramp is the last of the four segments of the I-195 relocation project, known as the Iway.
The old I-195 is expected to be demolished starting next year.
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Reader Reactions
I agree with Anti Corruption. 195 West is horrible every day (AM and PM commutes and other times of day)—the traffic is at a complete stop at the Mass Line in Seekonk near Exit 1. To get from Exit 1 in Seekonk to, say, the Dunkin Donuts Center should take about 10 minutes, but it’s more like a 30-40 minute ride. There are too many on-ramps to 195 West, and alot of those cars entering onto 195 West want to go South, thereby having to cut across many lanes, which slows everything down. Afer this major project is finally complete, I really hope that the horrible traffic on 195 West will be better.
One other thing—the closeness of the 195 west to 95 north on ramp and the exit ramp for Broadway and the mall in that area will not be a factor in the traffic tie-ups that were so common at the end of Rte 195. That alone will cause traffic there to move more freely—and therefore faster.
I’m sure that the backup problems are going to partially disappear when the I-way is fully open and everyone gets familiar with the new traffic flow. The people who head south on I-95 will be faced with a significantly shorter route to 95, and even though the north bound 95 traffic will get onto Rte 95 further south, their travel on 195 will also be shorter.
One thing for certain—the south bound 95 traffic will benefit from the switch of the entry/exit ramps to the right side, and the elimination of that dangerous s-curve on 195 will also mean faster movement of traffic.
I sure hope this new ramp actually makes a difference in the traffic flow pattern. Ever since the split was made to occur near the Washington Bridge, I-195 has been backed up to the Seekonk exit every day without a reprieve. There are still too many on-ramps to I-195 which I suspect is creating the mess in the first place. It should have express and local lanes like the larger cities have. I-195 clearly is the worst highway in the state in terms of traffic jams and it rivals I-93 in S Boston on many mornings in terms of the time requirements (ie 35 minutes to get from Seekonk to the split).
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