The Project

Work will begin in 2022 on a $196 million project that will make much-needed improvements along the Route 146 corridor, replacing multiple bridges, repaving 8 miles of roadway and correcting numerous safety and congestion problems. More than 171,000 vehicles travel Route 146 between Providence and Worcester each day.

The project includes the removal of the traffic signal where Route 146 meets Sayles Hill Road and construction of a bridge so the highway can pass freely over Sayles Hill Road. This intersection averages more than 85 crashes per year and is a source of significant congestion and travel delay. It is the only signalized intersection on the entire Route 146 highway corridor in Rhode Island.

Thanks to the efforts of Rhode Island's Congressional delegation, RIDOT secured a $65 million USDOT INFRA Grant to help fund the project. Learn more: 2020 INFRA Grant Application Narrative: Route 146 Improvements

Other Project Highlights

Route 146 a critical transportation route that has gone unimproved for far too long. Other highlights of the project include:

• Replacing one bridge along the corridor and do preservation or rehabilitation work on four others
• Building frontage roads for easy and safe access to businesses at the Sayles Hill Road interchange
• Repaving Route 146 from the I-295 interchange to the Massachusetts state line Adding bus-on-shoulder accommodations along the southern end of Route 146 in North Providence and Providence
• Extending existing fiber optic lines and Intelligent Transportation Systems/traffic monitoring from the I-295 interchange to the Massachusetts state line
• Rebuilding the Route 146/Route 146A interchange, removing dangerous U-turns using a diverging diamond interchange
• Extending the weave length for the Route 99 Ramp and Route 146 south Improving the geometry of the I-295 southbound off-ramp to Route 146
• Building new drainage systems
• Replacing guardrail and making other safety improvements such as wrong way driving detection systems

Maps & Graphics