Travel Advisory: RIDOT to Fully Open Route 146/Sayles Hill Road Flyover Bridge on December 17-18

RHODE ISLAND, December 11 - Starting on Wednesday night, December 17, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will begin shifting travel lanes on Route 146 so that all traffic will use the new flyover bridge the Department has been building to eliminate the traffic signal at Sayles Hill Road in North Smithfield. This intersection has the only traffic light on all of Route 146 in Rhode Island, was a source of significant congestion and travel delay, and is one of the most active crash sites in the state, averaging more than 85 crashes per year.

Two of the four lanes on Route 146 are currently using the bridge, and RIDOT will transition the remaining two to the bridge over two nights. All northbound traffic will be using the new bridge effective Wednesday night, December 17, and all southbound traffic will be using the bridge as of Thursday night, December 18.

With the movement of all traffic to the flyover bridge, drivers can use the service roads on each side of the highway to access Sayles Hill Road and local businesses. New signals with pedestrian crossing features are in place at the service roads and Sayles Hill Road.

The flyover bridge is the signature element in RIDOT's $196 million project to make numerous improvements to this busy highway corridor used by approximately 171,000 vehicles per day. In addition to the flyover, the project is building new frontage roads at the Sayles Hill Road intersection, replacing multiple bridges, completely reconstructing the Route 146/Route 146A interchange, removing dangerous U-turns, paving 8 miles of road, and adding bus-on-shoulder accommodations along the southern end of Route 146 in North Providence and Providence. Final completion of the entire project is expected in summer 2026.

Thanks to the efforts of Rhode Island's congressional delegation, RIDOT secured a $65 million USDOT INFRA Grant to help fund the project.

All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.

The Route 146 project is made possible by RhodeWorks. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island's infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.