Message from RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis –
Addressing RIDOT's financial challenges
 In my first few months at RIDOT, the State has addressed the increasingly serious need for highway funding and our aging transportation infrastructure. The 2008 Capital Budget of $189 million shrinks quickly when you realize that the replacement of the Routes 6 and 10 Interchange is currently estimated to cost $300 million, and the replacement of the Pawtucket River Bridge is expected to cost approximately $100 million. Improvements to Post Road in North Kingstown and East Greenwich are now estimated to cost $25 million. These are just three of the projects scheduled in the Transportation Improvement Program.
Other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Georgia, are in the same situation – the needs keep growing, but the funds are not. Governor Carcieri’s Blue Ribbon Panel for Transportation Funding is looking at all of the funding options available to the Ocean State and expects to have a financing recommendation by the end of the year.
RIDOT has just been awarded the first America’s Transportation Award for the Northeast Region for the 2006 Iway Bridge Float up Narragansett Bay. The Department is obviously proud of this accomplishment and is continuing to take pride in the ongoing work on the Iway. RIDOT has begun the process of opening new and closing old ramps on I-95 and I-195. Smaller changes such as lane shifts will continue to occur over the summer months. More substantial changes, such as the opening of the Iway’s I-95 South to I-195 East movement, are expect to take place before the end of the year.
Governor Carcieri's Blue Ribbon Panel for Transportation Funding
Bridging the Gap - The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has announced publication of 'Bridging the Gap: Restoring and Rebuilding the Nation's Bridges,' a report which sets a $140 billion price tag to repair and modernize the nation's bridges.
New on the RIDOT web site
RIDOT Bridge Float selected in Top 10 ATA projects
 RIDOT’s Iway Bridge Float has made the Top Ten nationwide projects making Rhode Island eligible for the Grand Prize in America’s Transportation Awards. Click here to read the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) press release.
Vote for Rhode Island's project here.
Iway bridge float nominated for national award: The delivery of the Iway signature bridge to Providence by floating it up Narragansett Bay was a NASTO winner in the America's Transportation Awards competition, sponsored by AAA, AASHTO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and will compete for national awards this fall.
See video of presentation.
Iway project earns Bell Ringer Award: Logo for the Iway garners top Graphic Identity award in competition.
New GIS Digital County Maps
Most of RIDOT's Digital County Maps are new and in color, including Providence, North Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls and East Providence; Wooonsocket, Lincoln and Cumberland; Johnston and Cranston; Glocester; Warwick, West Warwick and East Greenwich; Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth; Tiverton and Little Compton; Jamestown; Barrington, Warren and Bristol; Exeter; North Kingstown; South Kingstown; Westerly; Charlestown; and Narragansett. See maps here.
Rhode Island's bridges
- The I-95 Bridge over the Pawtucket River in Pawtucket, between Exits 27 and 28, has been posted at 18 tons. Click here for more information, alternate routes and detours for trucks, and frequently asked questions about this bridge.
- The Sakonnet River Bridge, Rte. 24 over the Sakonnet River between Tiverton and Aquidneck Island, is also posted at 18 tons. For more information and alternate routes for heavier vehicles, click here for more information.
- Cove Bridge, which brings Hummocks Point Road in Island Park, Portsmouth over a tidal inlet of the Sakonnet River, is now posted at 10 tons.
Condition of Rhode Island Bridges |
 Pre-Advertising Review for Sakonnet Bridge
This is an opportunity for contractors and engineers to review Plans and Specifications for the Replacement of the Sakonnet River Bridge before the contract bidding period begins.
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 Plans and reports on Highway Safety in Rhode Island
Award-winning Highway Safety video and audio Public Services Announcements, created by Rhode Island High School students, Spring 2008. |
 National Construction Career Day Center (NCCDC) is headed by RIDOT and the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center (URITC). Click here for more information on Construction Career Days.
DBE Supportive Services program Mission 360° – Business Opportunity and Workforce Development (BOWD) |
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The open lane of the new Iway Bridge, above right, is busy with traffic while construction continues to connect the bridge's remaining lanes with highway ramps. (Photo by Chuck Aube).
Slideshow - Building the Iway 2006-2008
(to be continued)
Changes on the Iway in 2008
 I-95 North Exit 20 has closed. I-95 North traffic headed to I-195 East should take Exit 19 (Iway I-195.) For a map with suggested alternate routes to Providence locations now that I-95 North Exit 20 is closed, click here.
Printable map with detailed information on all Iway traffic impacts for Spring 2008.
Map of Iway traffic changes scheduled for Fall 2008.
Map with suggested alternate routes for outbound traffic now that the Friendship St. on-ramp to I-195 EB is closed.
The new I-195 Exit 2 (India St.) is now open to traffic, and Exit 3 (Gano St.) has closed permanently. Click here for map information.
Background information on the the Iway (I-195 Relocation) project.
RIDOT has created a series of 12 podcasts, six in English and six in Spanish, using video footage shot during construction. Access the podcasts here.
Photo album from the Iway Bridge Walk October 20. Those who attended the bridge walk received a beautiful commemorative brochure about the Iway. See an online copy here, or request a copy by sending an email to CustomerService@dot.ri.gov. Pick up a copy at AAA branches, the Rhode Island Visitors' Centers on I-95 and I-295, and in public libraries around the state. |
| RIDOT is also replacing the eastbound Washington Bridge over the Seekonk River. Click here for information on the Washington Bridge construction. |
| See RIDOT's traffic cameras on a map image. Select just the camera you want to check. |
Construction Updates
Slide shows are available for a variety of of ongoing RIDOT construction projects.
Relocation of Rte. 403, No. Kingstown - Project overview and map |
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