RI’S NEW EXIT STRATEGY
Highway exit numbers are about to change in Rhode Island. Here’s why.
Driving around Interstate 295 is about to get more in line with national standards, even if it means a temporary bout of confusion for entrenched locals who are accustomed to the way things have been.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation starting on Monday, Nov. 27 will begin the two-week process of renumbering the entire I-295 corridor from Cumberland to Warwick.
Why is this happening? Well, as RIDOT would tell it, the new exit numbers will be keyed to mile markers, a federally-mandated system that’s been used around the country and that the traveling public has come to expect. But don’t fret, because the change won’t be implemented overnight with the expectation that Rhode Islanders get used to what could initially feel like a transition from to the imperial system to metric.
When workers over the coming weeks install the new exit number signs, they will additionally affix temporary signs that indicate the former exit number. Those temporary signs will be left in place for “an extended period of time,” to allow drivers to become accustomed to the numeric change. Additionally, all signs leading up to the exit and at all off-ramps will be updated to reflect the modification.
Rhode Island is among the last to change to this method of numbering, as required by the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, RIDOT officials have said. The state’s highway numbers were instead assigned sequentially.
“While we endeavor to bring our roads and bridges into a state of good repair through the RhodeWorks program, we’re also addressing outstanding issues that were never resolved,” RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. said in a statement. “This project will bring us in line with the rest of the country and provide more information to travelers about their location and distance to their destinations.”
RIDOT officials contend that the mile-marker exit number system “lets drivers know how far they need to travel to reach their desired off-ramp. They also allow for easier expansion for future interchanges since the entire highway would not have to be renumbered to accommodate a new exit number.”
RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin explained that Rhode Island is
one of the last states to adopt the mile marker system, saying the key to the program is about providing consistency for drivers, whether they’re from the Ocean State or outof-state.
“With mile markers, it gives the driver that information right away of how many miles to the next destination,” St. Martin said. “If they’re going to exit 20 from exit 10, they know they have 10 miles to go. If we ever had to add an exit in the future, then you’d have to renumber the highway to fit it in.”
“To a lot of people, some go on exit numbers, a lot take the exit based on its destination. There’s a mix there but having it as similar states makes for an easier transition,” he added. “This is something we ought to have done several years ago.”
The exit number alterations will move from north to south, with each interchange renumbering occurring before the next begins. The project starts with the Diamond Hill Road/Route 114 interchange in Cumberland. For the week of Nov. 27, the following exits will change:
• Exit 5 ( R. I. Resource Recovery) to Exit 7.
• Exit 6A (Rte. 6 East/Providence) to Exit 9A and Exit 6C (Rte. 6 West/Hartford) to Exit 9C.
• Exit 7A (Rte. 44 East/North Providence) to Exit 12A and Exit 7B (Rte. 44 West/Smithfield) to Exit 12B.
• Exit 8A (Rte. 7 South/North Providence) to Exit 15A and Exit 8B (Rte. 7 North/North Smithfield) to Exit 15B.
• Exit 9A (Rte. 146 South/Lincoln) to Exit 18A and Exit 9B (Rte. 146 North/Woonsocket) to Exit 18B.
• Exit 10 (Rte. 122/Cumberland) to Exit 20.
• Ext 11 (Rte. 114/Cumberland) to Exit 22.
During the week of Dec. 4, exits 1, 2, and 4 will be altered. The Exit 3/Route 37 interchange is located at Mile Marker 3, and will not need to be changed. Further, a new exit number – Exit 10 (Greenville Ave. in Johnston) will be added.
St. Martin said that RIDOT has reached out to mapping companies ranging from Google, Bing, and Waze to Garmin, Tom-Tom, and AAAto inform them of the upcoming changes and providing them with the same information as the public.
Work will take place during daytime and overnight hours and RIDOT cautions that minor traffic delays may be possible during sign installation. All schedules are weather dependent and subject to change.
Following the I-295 exit number transition, RIDOT is expected to develop schedules for the continued renumbering of highways to a mile-marker system. The project will include Interstates 95 and 195, as well as Routes 4, 10, 24, 37, 78, 403 and the Airport Connector.
Route 146, which currently does not have exit numbers, will for the first time receive new signs with numbers based on mile markers. That project will begin next year, St. Martin said.