Interstate 295 | |||||||||
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Providence Beltway | |||||||||
Route information | |||||||||
Length: | 26.58 mi (42.78 km) | ||||||||
Existed: | 1969 – present | ||||||||
Major junctions | |||||||||
South end: | I‑95 in Warwick, RI | ||||||||
US 6 in Johnston, RI US 44 in Smithfield, RI Route 146 in Lincoln, RI US 1 in North Attleborough, MA |
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North end: | I‑95 in Attleboro, MA | ||||||||
Highway system | |||||||||
Rhode Island Routes
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Interstate 295 (abbreviated I-295 also known as Providence Beltway) is an Interstate route 26.58 miles (42.78 km) in length within the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It serves as a western bypass around Providence, Rhode Island with the southern terminus located in Warwick, Rhode Island and the northern terminus in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Interstate 295 serves as a partial circumferential highway around Providence. The terminals of Interstate 295 are located in Warwick (interstate 95 exit 11 Northbound/12B Southbound), a partial access Y interchange (no direct ramps from interstate 295 south to interstate 95 north) and Attleboro (interstate 95 exit 4/ interstate 295 exit 2 Northbound) as a truncated/stubbed cloverleaf interchange.
In the mid-1950s, the state of Rhode Island introduced plans to build a beltway around Providence, then known as Relocated Route 5 for inclusion in the Interstate Highway System. A modified version of this plan was accepted, with another modification done in 1960 resulting in a planned alignment. Construction began in 1964 and the original route was completed by 1975. The original intention was to have interstate 295 act as a full ring road around the greater Providence area with the alignment roughly following Route 37 across Narragansett Bay and continuing in a Northern direction with a major interchange located at Interstate 195 exit 2 in Swansea, Massachusetts before heading west towards Attleboro. Due to opposition from communities in the proposed alignment, cancellation occurred in 1982.