Federal Grants Received Allow Major Construction Projects to Continue Moving Forward, Municipal Road and Bridge Program Continues to Help Improve Infrastructure for Cities and Towns

PROVIDENCE, RI – In the lead-up to his 2025 State of State Address, Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) highlighted a number of major projects in 2024 in addition to progress made on the Washington Bridge project. These include historic grant awards for Rhode Island, improvements to local roads, and increased highway safety.

“This year, Rhode Island received a record-breaking amount of federal funding to improve our transportation infrastructure,” said Governor Dan McKee. “I’m grateful to the DOT and our Congressional Delegation for their support in helping us secure a $95.5 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant, a $125.4 million MEGA grant, and a $251 million Federal Bridge Investment Program (BIP) grant.” 

RIDOT accomplishments in 2024 include:

15 Bridges

In July, RIDOT secured the?BIP grant—the largest-ever federal transportation grant in the state’s history—to fund the comprehensive I-95 15 bridges project, which will address 15 of the state's backlog of "poor and fair" and "poor" condition bridges along I-95 and Route 10 between Providence and Warwick – a critical corridor which carries 185,000 vehicles daily.

Just a couple of months after receiving the BIP grant, RIDOT broke ground and completed its first bridge replacement under the project. Using accelerated bridge construction methods over four weekends this fall, the Department demolished and replaced the northbound and southbound bridges carrying I-95 over Elmwood Avenue in Providence. This was done with minimal delay to traffic and all lanes reopened prior to the next Monday morning commute. By compressing the replacements to a single weekend, this approach saved motorists from months of lane closures and delays that are typical of conventional bridge construction methods.

Although not associated with the I-95 15 Bridges project, RIDOT used accelerated bridge construction to rapidly replace three other bridges this year – all occurring in a span of less than a month. In each case, RIDOT demolished and replaced a bridge over the course of an extended weekend. The bridges replaced included the Providence Street Bridge over I-295 in West Warwick, the bridge that carries the on-ramp from Route 37 West to I-95 North in Cranston, and the Route 37 bridge over the Washington Secondary Bike Path in Cranston. 

Washington Bridge Progress

Once we learned on March 14 that building a new bridge was the only viable solution to the Washington Bridge situation, RIDOT worked quickly to open six lanes of traffic safely, making it possible to return to normal traffic volume. After an earlier version of an RFP did not result in qualified bidders, we adjusted course and initiated an RFI and RFQ process that has yielded two nationally known teams in bridge construction competing on a final replacement design. The demolition of the superstructure—the part of the bridge you drive over—is on track to be finished this winter, and demolition of the substructure underneath should also start this winter.

In September, the state received the MEGA grant to help fund the reconstruction of the westbound Washington Bridge, followed in October by the INFRA grant. This infusion of more than $200 million is paired with the issuance of Garvee bonds, to ensure we have the financial resources needed to complete the project without putting an undue burden on Rhode Island taxpayers. 

Henderson Bridge

In this past year, RIDOT completed the demolition of the old bridge and finalized all paving and roadway improvements, including a new roundabout on the East Providence side of the bridge. Having recently received an additional $25 million for the second phase of the project, RIDOT will work with the community with the newly awarded grant funds to design the Phase 2 project that will transform the former Henderson Expressway into a boulevard. By doing so it will reduce the scale to a less-intensive city street with pedestrian safety improvements including a shared-use bike path. 

RhodeRestore

RIDOT also worked closely to assist cities and towns applying for matching funds from the Governor’s Municipal Road and Bridge Program – now known as RhodeRestore. The 2:1 matching program augmented local funding so that municipalities could address or accelerate their efforts to address local transportation infrastructure needs. In 2024, the state provided an additional $5 million in funding to the existing $20 million investment, resulting in more than $107 million in approved projects that represent 673 lane miles of roads resurfaced and nearly 132,000 linear feet of sidewalks.

Additional Grant Awards

Also, this year, RIDOT received $81 million for the Route 4 “Missing Move” project, $31.9 million for the use of low-carbon materials in construction projects, $26 million for stormwater improvements, an additional $15 million toward electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and $4.2 million for bike path improvements.

“This past year was a highly successful one for RIDOT as we received more than $650 million in federal grants, including the largest one we’ve ever received,” said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. “Grants of this magnitude demonstrate the high level of confidence the federal government has in the state's ability to deliver high-quality projects.” 

Route 6/10 Interchange

The remaining service roads and bridges built as part of this project were opened this year, and RIDOT completed the resurfacing of all roadway segments throughout the interchange. As the project wraps up this fall, RIDOT is finalizing the construction of the new shared-use bike path, drainage, and utility work. 

Providence Viaduct

RIDOT advanced construction on this project to not only replace the 1,300-foot deficient I-95 northbound viaduct bridge, but it also included work on 10 bridges and a new collector-distributor road to reduce congestion and improve safety for on- and off-ramp traffic. In January 2024 this roadway was partially opened, and later this month, RIDOT expects to open all lanes on this new service road.  

Cranston Canyon – Route 37

RIDOT advanced bridge work along Route 37 and over I-295 including construction of a new flyover bridge at the Route 37 exit, eliminating a non-traditional left-hand highway merge. The week before Christmas, RIDOT opened a third lane along I-295 North between the Route 37 and Route 6 interchange, which will improve travel times while decreasing chronic congestion.

Route 146 Improvements

RIDOT opened the first lane on a new flyover bridge being built at Route 146 and Sayles Hill Road in North Smithfield – the only signalized intersection on all of Route 146 in Rhode Island. The flyover is being built to eliminate the traffic signal, which is the source of significant congestion and travel delay and results in more than 85 crashes each year.

Pell Bridge Ramps Project

RIDOT completed all major work on this project that introduced a redesigned and safer series of roadways to connect the Pell Bridge with Downtown Newport, Route 138, and the city’s North End. Among the final tasks completed this year were final paving, stormwater improvements, and construction of a new commuter parking lot, a shared-use bike path linking directly to the downtown area, and a new community dog park. 

Transit Improvement

RIDOT and Amtrak kicked off a $30 million state-of-good repair project to provide a wide range of improvements to modernize and expand the station while upgrading passenger amenities to make it easier and safer to use the station. Built in 1986, Providence Station has grown to serve more than two million passengers a year, making it the 11th most utilized train station in the country. This past year, RIDOT also opened an addition to the parking lot at the Pawtucket-Central Falls Transit Center, providing more than twice the number of spaces. Ridership has surged to approximately 900 boardings per day – well exceeding the 500 boardings per day estimate. 

Stormwater Improvements

The $26 million federal grant received this year will build 97 stormwater treatment units across the state, detaining more than 300,000 cubic feet of runoff for treatment for each rainstorm, prior to being discharged into local rivers, lakes, and bays. Additionally, RIDOT completed work on 41 stormwater treatment units, began design on 58 others, completed seven projects to mitigate localized flooding, and strengthened partnerships with communities, and private and non-profit organizations for additional stormwater improvement projects.

Litter Removal Initiatives

RIDOT in the past year added 20 groundskeeper positions to have more personnel to tackle highway litter pickup as well as contracting with a national clean-up company to assist with litter cleanup on Interstates and other major highways. RIDOT also purchased six tractor-mounted litter pickers that allow for rapid collection of litter. In cooperation with the Governor’s office, RIDOT in the spring launched a web-based “Trashboard” to report on litter clean-up efforts statewide. At the end of 2024, RIDOT filled more than 26,000 bags of litter and picked up nearly 700 tons of large litter items. Community-based litter clean-up efforts added another 6,600 bags of litter removed from Rhode Island roads.