The Project

The Route 146 project, designed to eliminate one of the most active crash sites in Rhode Island, has made great strides since work first started in 2022. In April of this year, RIDOT completed the construction of one lane southbound on the new flyover bridge at the Sayles Hill Road intersection providing one lane in each direction on the flyover. For now, the other southbound travel lane remains at ground level but eventually two lanes in each direction will be able to bypass the traffic signal.

The traffic signal at Sayles Hill Road has been adjusted to ensure that the intersection functions at maximum efficiency.

The Route 146 Improvement Project will replace multiple bridges, repave 8 miles of road and eliminate congestion at the intersection of Sayles Hill Road and Route 146. Approximately 171,000 vehicles use Route 146 daily.

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