Travel Advisory: RIDOT Changing Traffic Pattern on South County Trail Bridge Over Route 4 in East Greenwich

Starting Friday night, August 28, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will make traffic pattern changes on a section of South County Trail (Route 2) at the Route 4 interchange in East Greenwich. Since last summer, RIDOT has been replacing the South County Trail Bridge at this location and is now nearing completion on the project.

The first change involves shifting all lanes to the newly rebuilt northbound side of the bridge. This will be the final configuration for through traffic. The two-lane configuration that has been in place for the past year of construction will remain permanently. This design is called a road diet (one lane in each direction, with a center turning lane) and connects to the current road diet south of the Park and Ride lot just south of the bridge. Travel on Route 2 will return to a four-lane configuration north of the bridge, heading toward Frenchtown Road.

Also on August 28, RIDOT will temporarily relocate the access point to the on-ramp from Route 2 North to Route 4 South. The new entry point will be approximately 200 feet past its current location. With this change, drivers on Route 2 South using this same ramp will have to yield to traffic coming from their left. RIDOT is installing additional signs to caution drivers about this temporary change and the need to yield.

Once these changes are made, RIDOT will begin demolition of the portion of the bridge that originally carried southbound traffic. With this work, the newly constructed sidewalk closest to the demolition area will be closed. The sidewalk on the other side will be available. As part of this design, RIDOT included sidewalks for the first time on this bridge on both sides of the road.

This phase of work will be ongoing into the fall, when RIDOT expects to complete the demolition and remove all temporary traffic changes.

The South County Trail Bridge carries approximately 13,400 vehicles per day.

The work on this bridge is part of a larger, $76.8 million multi-bridge project that also is replacing the bridges carrying Frenchtown Road over Route 4 as well as Devil's Foot Road over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. The entire project is scheduled for completion in Spring 2027.

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