The I-95 ‘Missing Move’ and Quonset Ramps Construction, North Kingstown/East Greenwich (RIDOT)

RIDOT will shift all traffic to the newly rebuilt northbound side of the South County Trail bridge at the Route 4 interchange starting Friday night, Aug. 28.

The two-lane configuration in place during construction becomes permanent — one lane each direction with a center turning lane, connecting to the existing road diet south of the Park and Ride lot. Route 2 returns to four lanes north of the bridge toward Frenchtown Road.

RIDOT is also temporarily relocating the entrance to the Route 2 North on-ramp to Route 4 South, moving it about 200 feet past its current spot. Drivers on Route 2 South using that ramp will have to yield to traffic from their left, and RIDOT is adding signs warning of the change.

Crews will then demolish the portion of the bridge that carried southbound traffic. One of the two new sidewalks — the first on this bridge — will close during that work; the other stays open. The demolition phase runs into the fall.

The bridge carries roughly 13,400 vehicles a day. It is part of a $76.8 million project also replacing the Frenchtown Road bridge over Route 4 and the Devil’s Foot Road bridge over Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, scheduled for completion in spring 2027.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...