The road will be closed for continued demolition of the old Division Street bridge

Submitted by RIDOT

What remains of the old bridge as of 12/18/21, and a glimpse of the temporary bridge to the right.

On Monday, Dec. 20, the R.I. Department of Transportation will temporarily close Route 4 North for work on the Division Street Bridge project on the East Greenwich/Warwick line. The overnight closure will be repeated for the same hours on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The following week (Dec. 26-28), Exit 9 on I-95 South to Route 4 South will be closed for three nights.

The closure is necessary to allow workers to continue demolition of the old Division Street Bridge. RIDOT expects travel delays and recommends motorists seek alternate routes.

RIDOT will post trailblazing detour signage along each route, and police officers will be present to keep vehicles moving through the traffic signals along the detour routes. Here are the detour routes:

Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 20-22, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Route 4 North to I-95 North: All traffic will use Exit 9A toward East Greenwich and get back on I-95 North using the ramp at the next traffic signal.

Route 4 North 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.

Division Street Eastbound: In order to safely 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.

Sunday-Tuesday, Dec. 26-28, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

I-95 Exit 9 to Route 4 South: Use 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.

The aim of the $22.9 million project is to replace the 54-year-old Division Street bridge. RIDOT closed the bridge in November, after a temporary bridge finally opened following delays (read more HERE). The span carries 14,000 vehicles a day and is a major gateway to East Greenwich and Warwick residences and to downtown EG. The old bridge was only one rating point away from becoming structurally deficient and had to be replaced.

Any changes to the schedule will be posted at www.ridot.net/TravelAdvisories. All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.

The replacement of the Division Street Bridge was made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT’s ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island’s transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.