Interstate 295 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)

Interstate 295
Providence Beltway
Route information
Length:	26.58 mi (42.78 km)
Existed:	1969[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I‑95 in Warwick, RI
	US 6 in Johnston, RI US 44 in Smithfield, RI Route 146 in Lincoln, RI US 1 in North Attleborough, MA
North end:	I‑95 in Attleboro, MA
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Rhode Island Routes Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← Route 246 RI Route 401 → ← I‑291 MA Route 295 →

Interstate 295 (abbreviated I-295 also known as Providence Beltway) is an Interstate route 26.58 miles (42.78 km) in length within the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It serves as a western bypass around Providence, Rhode Island with the southern terminus located in Warwick, Rhode Island and the northern terminus in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Route description

Interstate 295 serves as a partial circumferential highway around Providence. The terminals of Interstate 295 are located in Warwick (interstate 95 exit 11 Northbound/12B Southbound), a partial access Y interchange (No direct ramps from interstate 295 south to interstate 95 north) and Attleboro (interstate 95 exit 4/ interstate 295 exit 2 Northbound) as a truncated/stubbed cloverleaf interchange.

History

In the mid-1950s, the state of Rhode Island introduced plans to build a beltway around Providence, then known as Relocated Route 5 for inclusion in the Interstate Highway System. A modified version of this plan was accepted, with another modification done in 1960 resulting in a planned alignment. Construction began in 1964 and the original route was completed by 1975. The original intention was to have interstate 295 act as a full ring road around the greater Providence area with the alignment roughly following Route 37) across Narragansett Bay and continuing in a Northern direction with a major interchanges located at Interstate 195 exit 2 in Swansea, Massachusetts before heading west towards Attleboro. Due to opposition from communities in the proposed alignment, cancellation occurred in 1982.

The original alignment of Interstate 84 called for an east-west right of way from the Rhode Island and Connecticut state line (Willimantic, Connecticut and Foster, Rhode Island) to Johnston, Rhode Island through the Scituate Reservoir. The connection with Interstate 295 was planned as a full interchange with flyover ramps. Due to fears of runoff affecting the Scituate Reservoir, this alignment of Interstate 84 was cancelled. This interchange (Exits 6A-C) currently acts as multiplex for US 6 with a partial interchange with Route 10 further down US 6.

Exit list

Both Rhode Island and Massachusetts interchanges will be changed to mileage-based numbers. Massachusetts is scheduled to start in 2016^[2] with the proposed exit numbers being 2A/B and 4A/B. RIDOT is slated to renumber its portion of interstates 295's exits by 2018 in a plan announced in March 2016. ^{[3] [4]}

State	County	Location[5]	mi[5]	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Rhode Island	Kent	Warwick	0.00	0.00	-	-	I‑95 south – New York	Southern terminus; Also includes a ramp from I-95 south to I-295 north, exit 12B; north exit 11 (RI)
			0.70	1.13	1		Route 113 west – West Warwick
			1.10	1.77	2		Route 2 north – Oaklawn	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			1.50	2.41	2		Route 2 south – Warwick	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Providence	Cranston	3.70	5.95	3		Route 37 to Route 2 / Route 51 – Cranston, T. F. Green Airport, Coventry	Signed as exits 3A (east) and 3B (west)
		Johnston	6.50	10.46	4		Route 14 (Plainfield Pike)
			7.60	12.23	5		Rhode Island Resource Recovery Industrial Park	Opened in 2005
			8.80	14.16	6		US 6 (US 6A east) – Providence, Hartford	Signed as exits 6A (US 6 east), 6B (northbound U-turn to I-295 south), and 6C (US 6 west/US 6A east) northbound
		Smithfield	12.20	19.63	7		US 44 – North Providence, Smithfield	Signed as exits 7A (east) and 7B (west)
			15.40	24.78	8		Route 7 – North Smithfield, North Providence	Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north)
		Lincoln	18.70	30.09	9		Route 146 – Woonsocket, Worcester	Signed as exits 9A (south) and 9B (north)
		Cumberland	21.10	33.96	10		Route 122 – Cumberland
			22.80	36.69	11		Route 114 – Cumberland
RI–MA border			23.5 0.000	37.8 0.000	Rhode Island–Massachusetts state line
Massachusetts	Bristol	North Attleborough	1.852	2.981	1A	2A	US 1 south – Pawtucket, RI
			1.861	2.995	1B	2B	US 1 north – North Attleboro
		Attleboro	4.025	6.478	2A	4A	I‑95 south – Providence	I-95 exit 4 (MA)
			4.064	6.540	2B	4B	I‑95 north – Boston	Northern terminus, I-95 exit 4 (MA)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

References

1. http://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=i0295ma
2. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2015). "COMMBUYS - Bid Solicitation FAP# HSIP-002S(874) Exit Signage Conversion to Milepost-Based Numbering System along Various Interstates, Routes and the Lowell Connector". Retrieved September 17, 2015.
3. http://wpri.com/2016/03/29/ri-set-to-renumber-all-its-highway-exit-signs/
4. Robert H. Malme (2015). "I-295 and I-395 in Mass. Current and Future Exit Lists". Retrieved January 2, 2016.
5. MassDOT Planning Division. "Massachusetts Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2014-08-21.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• I-295 on Kurumi.com
• Interstate 295-Rhode Island
• Speculative Future I-295 and I-395 Exit Numbers List