Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

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Interstate 195 Secondary route of the Interstate Highway System

Interstate 195 (abbreviated I-195) is an interstate highway running a combined 40.1 miles (64.5 km) in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts. It runs east-west and passes through the cities of Fall River, Massachusetts and New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The section in downtown Providence is currently being replaced and moved to the south to lie just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. This is due to the sharp curves and the way the road cuts through part of the city. The new stretch of highway is being called the Iway by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and will include a signature bridge over the Providence River and a landscaped pedestrian walkway over the highway. It will connect India Point Park to the Fox Point neighborhood. See www.dot.state.ri.us/projects/construction/195intro.htm[1] for more information.

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• Providence, Rhode Island
• Fall River, Massachusetts
• New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Cape Cod, Massachusetts (via Route 25)

[edit] History

Predating I-195 were two sections of road - Fox Point Boulevard and the Washington Bridge. The Washington Bridge, crossing the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence, was opened on September 25, 1930, replacing an 1885 swing bridge with a higher bascule bridge. A new eastbound bridge opened in November 1968.[2]

Fox Point Boulevard, later George M. Cohan Boulevard, was a surface boulevard connecting the Washington Bridge west to the Point Street Bridge and downtown Providence. It was built with no cross traffic by using U-turn ramps in the median to reverse direction. This was the last part in Providence to be built as a freeway, opened in December 1968.

The first freeway section came off the west end of Cohan Boulevard and over the Providence River, ending at the one-way pair of Pine Street and Friendship Street, which opened in November 1958. The ramp to Pine Street has been closed, but the entrance from Friendship Street still exists. The I-95 interchange at this end opened in fall 1964; the Pine Street ramp was kept for a while.

The next section to be constructed was the part in East Providence. It opened to the last exit before the state line on December 15, 1959, and was extended into Massachusetts by August 1960.

Before the Interstate Highway System numbering was decided upon, I-195 was planned as a relocation of US 6; in fact, all but the last section were signed as US 6 when built (the first section only eastbound though). In 1957, the number Interstate 95E was assigned, as all intercity routes were numbered before the three-digit Interstate numbering was chosen, and the Providence-New Bedford route was too long to be considered intracity. The I-195 designation was assigned in 1959 with the final numbering. At some time after 1976, the definition of I-195 was extended east to I-495 (which was itself extended).

I-195 still carries US 6, now in both directions, from I-95 to the last interchange before Massachusetts. It also carries US 1A and US 44 over the Washington Bridge and its approaches, though the former has almost no signs.

Until around 1990, the US 6 freeway from RI 10 at Olneyville west to I-295 was signed as RI 195.

[edit] Exit list

[edit] Exits in Rhode Island

[edit] Exits in Massachusetts

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95
I-195	Florida - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts/Rhode Island - New Jersey - Virginia
I-295	Delaware/New Jersey - District of Columbia/Maryland - Florida - Massachusetts/Rhode Island - Maine - New York - North Carolina - Virginia
I-395	Connecticut/Massachusetts - District of Columbia/Virginia - Florida - Maryland - Maine
I-495	Delaware - District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia - Maine - Massachusetts - New York
I-595	Florida - Maryland
I-695	District of Columbia - Maryland - New York
I-795	Maryland
I-895	Maryland - New York - Massachusetts/Rhode Island
past/ future	I-495: New Jersey I-595: Virginia I-695: Massachusetts - New Jersey - Pennsylvania I-795: Florida - Virginia I-895: Delaware - New Jersey/Pennsylvania - Virginia

[edit] External links

• RIDOT - Relocation of the I-95/I-195 Interchange
• Kurumi
• Bostonroads.com - East Providence Expressway

[edit] References

• Rhode Island State Highways/Map sources

Looking east at I-195 in Providence, Rhode Island around 1959. This was the first section to be built, and was originally part of US 6. I-195 now ends at I-95 in the lower part of the photo.

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