Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, Jr., joined state and local leaders to break ground on the Washington Bridge North project Wednesday.
The $78 million project will rehabilitate structural deficiencies on the westbound portion of the Washington Bridge carrying I-195 over the Seekonk River, while adding an additional lane on the bridge to accommodate Interstate traffic entering the highway from the Veterans Memorial Parkway, Warren Avenue and Taunton Avenue ramps. A federal BUILD grant will allow the project to include a new exit to Waterfront Drive in East Providence.
“Once again, our Congressional delegation has stepped up and provided Rhode Island with additional funding so we can make necessary improvements to our infrastructure, and at the same time address traffic problems that have plagued this highway for years and open the door for economic development and the many jobs that come with it,” McKee said.
Officials said the bridge carries more than 96,000 vehicle per day and is one of the busiest sections of Interstate highway in Rhode Island. When completed the average morning commute from the state line to I-95 will be trimmed from 16 minutes to 9.5 minutes, officials estimated.
Other project elements include partial widening of five continuous lanes of I-195 westbound traffic over the bridge, a new bridge structure to carry traffic from on-ramps over the new off-ramp to Waterfront Drive, restriping of I-195 to allow for four lanes of traffic, and an additional lane on the western end of the bridge to reduce weaving movements.
“The Washington Bridge has to be rehabilitated to keep it safe,” Alviti said. “And thanks to our Congressional delegation we can make additional, once-in-a-lifetime improvements at the same time that will clear up much of the daily traffic congestion along I-195 West and provide new connections for commuters and commerce.”