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Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)
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Interstate 195 (abbreviated I-195) is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles (64.5 km) in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts. It runs east-west and passes through the cities of Fall River, Massachusetts and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The section in downtown Providence is currently being replaced and moved to the south to lie just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier.
le class="infobox" width="230px"> | Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
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ating I-195 were two sections of road - Fox Point Boulevard and the Washington Bridge.
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Encyclopedia
Interstate 195 (abbreviated I-195) is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles (64.5 km) in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts. It runs east-west and passes through the cities of Fall River, Massachusetts and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The section in downtown Providence is currently being replaced and moved to the south to lie just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier.
Route description
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
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History
Predating I-195 were two sections of road - Fox Point Boulevard and the Washington Bridge. The Washington Bridge, crossing the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence, was opened on September 25, 1930, replacing an 1885 swing bridge with a higher bascule bridge. A new eastbound bridge opened in November 1968.
Fox Point Boulevard, later George M. Cohan Boulevard, was a surface boulevard connecting the Washington Bridge west to the Point Street Bridge and downtown Providence. It was built with no cross traffic by using U-turn ramps in the median to reverse direction. This was the last part in Providence to be built as a freeway, opened in December 1968.
The first freeway section came off the west end of Cohan Boulevard and over the Providence River, ending at the one-way pair of Pine Street and Friendship Street, which opened in November 1958. The ramp to Pine Street has been closed, but the entrance from Friendship Street still exists. The I-95 interchange at this end opened in fall 1964; the Pine Street ramp was kept for a while.
The next section to be constructed was the part in East Providence. It opened to the last exit before the state line on December 15, 1959, and was extended into Massachusetts by August 1960.
Before the Interstate Highway System numbering was decided upon, I-195 was planned as a relocation of US 6; in fact, all but the last section were signed as US 6 when built (the first section only eastbound though). In 1957, the number Interstate 95E was assigned, as all intercity routes were numbered before the three-digit Interstate numbering was chosen, and the Providence-New Bedford route was too long to be considered intracity. The I-195 designation was assigned in 1959 with the final numbering. At some time after 1976, the definition of I-195 was extended east to I-495 (which was itself extended).
I-195 still carries US 6, now in both directions, from I-95 to the last interchange before Massachusetts. It also carries US 1A and US 44 over the Washington Bridge and its approaches, though the former has almost no signs.
Until around 1990, the US 6 freeway from RI 10 at Olneyville west to I-295 was signed as RI 195.
Iway
Interstate 195's stretch through Providence is currently (2008) in the process of being rerouted due to the sharp curves and the way the road cuts through part of the city. The relocation will make the segment safer for traffic, reunify the Jewellery District with Downcity Providence, and free up more space. In the process some 35 buildings, housing over 80 businesses and six residences were demolished. The new stretch of highway is being called the Iway by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and includes a signature bridge over the Providence River as well as a landscaped pedestrian walkway over the highway. It will connect India Point Park to the Fox Point neighborhood. The project is estimated to cost $446 million, with the new stretch opening in 2009 (full interchange), and demolition of the old road to be completed in 2012.
Exit list
Exits in Rhode Island
| Location | # | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
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| Providence | | 0.0 | | All eastbound Interstate 195 traffic is using the new Iway Right of way (exit 19 I-95 NB and exit 20 I-95 SB) | | 2 | 0.7 | East: Wickenden Street – India Point
West: US 44 West (South Main Street) | | | 3 | 1.1 | Gano St – India Point | Closed as of 2008-05-22 | | East Providence | 4 | 1.8 | | Partial interchange: EB exit/WB entrance only, US 44 leaves I-195/US 6/US 1A | | 5 | 2.0 | | Partial interchange: EB exit/WB entrance only
Old US 6. | | 6 | 2.4 | Broadway | Westbound access to US 44 and Route 103 | | 7 | 3.0 | | Partial interchange: EB exit/WB entrance only
East Shore Expressway | | 8 | 3.2 |  Route 114 north – Rumford | Partial interchange: EB exit/WB entrance only, US 6/1A leaves I-195 |
Exits in Massachusetts
| County | Location | # | Destination | Notes |
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| Bristol County | Seekonk | 1 | | Provides quick access to U.S. Route 6 | | Swansea | 2 | | Rte. 136's northern terminus is at this point. | | 3 | | Exit recently expanded; the Swansea Mall is located at the intersection of Rtes. 6 & 118. | | Somerset | 4 | | Split into 4A-B westbound; 4B heads eastbound on Wilbur Ave/Rte. 103, 4A heads westbound. Eastbound Exit 4 connects to Lee's River Ave., which terminates just south of the exit at Rte. 103. | | Fall River | 5 | | Southern terminus of Rte. 79 is at this exit. Both sides split after exit to northbound (Rtes. 79/138) and southbound (Rte. 138 only). Exit is at the eastern end of the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge on the eastern banks of the Taunton River. | | 6 | Pleasant Street (Westbound)/Hartwell Street (Eastbound) | Both exits provide downtown access to Fall River. | | 7 | | Northern terminus of Rte. 81. Exits 6 and 7 share an access ramp on both sides. | | 8A | | Route 24 joins eastbound and leaves westbound | | 8B | | Route 24 leaves eastbound and joins westbound. | | Westport | 9 | Sanford Road/N. Westport | Eastbound exit only, no entrances. (Road actually terminates just north of Sanford Rd. on Old Bedford Rd., which was rerouted at the time of original construction.) | | 10 | | Northern terminus of Rte. 88; also provides quick access to Rte. 6 at first exit. | | Dartmouth | 11 | Reed Road/Hixville/Dartmouth | Split into 11A-B westbound; 11B heads north towards Hixville, 11A heads towards Dartmouth and North Westport. | | 12 | Faunce Corner Road | Split into 12A-B westbound; 12B heads north towards Faunce Corner; 12A heads south on Faunce Corner Mall Rd towards the Dartmouth Mall. | | New Bedford | 13A-B | | | | 14 | Penniman Street | Eastbound exit/westbound entrance only. | | 15 | | No access to Route 18 North from I-195 in either direction.No access to I-195 from Route 18 South. Access to I-195 East and West from Rte. 18 North. | | 16 | Washburn Street | Eastbound exit/entrance only. | | 17 | Coggeshall Street | Westbound exit/entrance only. | | Fairhaven | 18 | | To U.S. Route 6; this is the northern terminus of Rte. 240. | | Plymouth County | Mattapoisett | 19A-B | Mattapoisett/N. Rochester | Exit serves North St., which heads south towards Rte. 6 and Mattapoisett Harbor and north towards Rochester. | | Marion | 20 | | Rte. 105 heads south towards Rte. 6 and Marion Harbor and north towards Rochester. Also provides access to the western parts of Wareham. | | Wareham | 21 | | Ramps recently upgraded with stoplights to accommodate new Wareham Crossing shopping center just northwest of the junction. Southbound heads towards Wareham harbor. | | 22A | | I-495's southern terminus is at this junction; is the same roadway as Rte. 25. | | 22B | | Rte. 25's northern terminus is at this junction; is the same roadway as I-495. | |
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