SMITHFIELD – Travel from North Smithfield into Smithfield may be delayed due to road improvements as the Rhode Island Department of Transportation begins work on the Douglas Pike Bridge.
RIDOT will reduce the number of through travel lanes from two to one in each direction over the bridge where it passes over I-295 in Smithfield beginning on Friday night, Feb. 27. The change is part of an ongoing bridge replacement project.
With the lane reduction, RIDOT will shift all travel lanes to the portion of the bridge that carries southbound traffic, according to a release from the agency. This will free up the northbound side of the bridge so RIDOT can complete utility relocations and prepare to demolish that portion of the bridge. Traffic entering Route 7 from I-295 North or South will not be affected.
After the utility work, the Department will demolish and then rebuild the bridge using accelerated bridge construction methods. Following that, RIDOT will shift traffic onto the newly built northbound lanes and repeat the utility work, followed by demolition and replacement of the southbound side of the bridge.
RIDOT noted that the entire process of utility relocations, lane shifts, demolition and bridge construction is scheduled to finish in mid-May.
“This rapid bridge construction approach will save motorists up to two years of lane closures and shifts associated with conventional construction,” the release notes.
RIDOT will reportedly use the same process to replace the Diamond Hill Road Bridge over I-295 in Cumberland later this year. RIDOT also is scheduled to remove the lane reductions on I-295 that have been in place at these bridges since last year. That change is tentatively scheduled to take place in late spring.
The entire $63.5 million project will be finished in late summer/early fall 2026, but RIDOT notes that all construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
