PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is actively looking at ways to alleviate severe traffic congestion on I-195 eastbound before the Washington Bridge, 12 News reported.
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti told 12 News on Wednesday that despite the installation of three lanes last month, eastbound traffic continues to be an issue on the bridge, especially near the merge from I-95 to I-195.
“There are two lanes coming from I-95 North and two lanes coming from I-95 South,” Alviti explained. “Right now, [merging] We had to split into four lanes and narrow it down to three lanes to make sure everyone could stay in their lane.”
Alviti acknowledged that lane reductions often cause congestion, but RIDOT has repeatedly “tweaked” the configuration of these junctions over the past few weeks to ease congestion.
Alviti said RIDOT may also reconfigure the merge onto I-195 east from the India Street ramp.
“We’ve been modeling different shapes there and hopefully that will help a little bit,” he said.
The Washington Bridge has been plagued by traffic congestion in both directions since the westbound section was suddenly closed in December. The bridge will need to be demolished and rebuilt, and Alviti reiterated that it won’t be in service until at least 2026.
The westbound lanes have been relocated to the eastbound side of the bridge for the time being, as the bridge is an entirely different structure and will not be affected by the closure.
Thankfully, Alviti said the addition of a third lane on I-195 west has eased traffic congestion on that side of the bridge.
“The good news is that westbound travel times are shorter than they were before the bridge was built. [closed]” Alviti said.
Thankfully, Alviti said drivers have become fairly accustomed to the bridge’s new configuration, lower speed limits and additional regulations.
“The number of accidents is going down and the time it takes to clear accidents from lanes is also going down,” Alviti said. “We’re also moving in the right direction on the east side of the bridge.”
“We still have work to do, but we are working on it and will continue to do so, just as we have seen with the three-lane configuration, which has delivered incredible improvements,” Alviti said. “We hope to see similar results with the other engineering changes we are currently considering.”
At this time, the exact changes to the merger are unclear, and it is unclear when RIDOT will implement them.
