Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By Bruce Landis
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The afternoon rush hour came and went without any major traffic tie-ups Thursday, despite worries that the opening of a new section of Route 195 would produce a snarl, particularly on some local streets.

Robert Rocchio, a Department of Transportation managing engineer, said that the worst backup of the afternoon was at the Thurbers Avenue curve on Route 95 north, a common event on a section of highway distant from the area where lanes had been shifted.

The DOT had worried that cutting off traffic from some downtown entrances to Route 95 south, a route drivers had used routinely to get out of the city, would create afternoon traffic tie-ups. But officials said there were only a few minor backups in the area near Davol Square, where Eddy and Point streets meet.

Under the new system, motorists using the Gano Street onramp onto Route 195 westbound can no longer reach Route 95 south, complicating reaching that route from the East Side. Other onramps that no longer reach Route 95 south are at Wickenden Street and Dyer Street.

One alternate recommended by the DOT is the Memorial Boulevard entrance to southbound Route 95 at Providence Place mall. Another is a temporary ramp on Blackstone Street, between Allens Avenue and Eddy Street, south of Davol Square.

Follow our continuing report on the new Iway section, and give your own traffic reports at projo.com.

 Tags  Iway providence ri

Comments

Lance said:

Refresh my memory - what was the purpose of relocating I-195? Was it to make Downtown Providence inaccessible? If so, it's a success!

Link | June 18, 2009 10:42 PM
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