Temporary Division St. Bridge Removal Means Detours

by | Sep 9, 2022

Above: The temporary bridge in action after removal of the old bridge in late 2021

Look for nighttime road closures on Route 4  

The temporary arch bridges over Route 4 erected to handle Division Street traffic while the old bridge was torn down and replaced are going to be removed now that the new bridge is open. Because of problems with one of the arches, it ended up taking a lot longer to open the temporary bridge (almost two years) than it was in use (nine months). 

Here’s the press release from RIDOT: 

Starting Sunday, September 11, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will begin a series of nighttime closures of Route 4 to remove the temporary arches at the Division Street Bridge on the East Greenwich/Warwick line. All the closures will take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The southbound lanes of Route 4 will be the first set of closures and will occur as follows:

  • Sunday, September 11
  • Monday, September 12 
  • Tuesday, September 13

During these closures, motorists on I-95 south who wish to take Route 4 south should follow a detour using exit 8 to Route 2/South County Trail and Division Street to access the Route 4 south on-ramp just after the East Greenwich Square shopping center. Police details will keep traffic moving through the traffic signals along the detour route.

The northbound lanes of Route 4 closures will occur as follows:

  • Wednesday, September 14
  • Thursday, September 15

For drivers wishing to get to I-95 north, all traffic will use exit 9A toward East Greenwich and then get back on I-95 north using the ramp at the next traffic signal. For traffic wishing to get to Route 2 and I-95 south, follow the detour above using I-95 north to exit 10 to reverse direction onto I-95 south. Police details will be on site along the route.

In order to accommodate traffic on the Route 4 north detour, all traffic on Division Street eastbound will need to use the on-ramp to Route 4 south. Take exit 7A to Frenchtown Road and follow the detour to get onto Route 4 north, then take exit 9A toward East Greenwich.

The demolition schedule will be updated daily depending on the amount of work completed the night before.

The Division Street Bridge is a $22.9 million project to replace a 55-year-old bridge which carries 14,000 vehicles daily.

The Division Street Bridge project is made possible by RhodeWorks and the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Improvement Act. 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.

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