U.S. Route 1 in Rhode Island
U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Rhode Island is a major north–south state highway through the U.S. state, specifically within the Providence metropolitan area. Staying close to the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay, it is a longer route than Interstate 95, and many portions are a four-lane divided highway.
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US 1 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by RIDOT | ||||
| Length | 57 mi[1] (92 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 1 in Stonington, CT | |||
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| North end | US 1 in Attleboro, MA | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Washington, Kent, Providence | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
US 1 has a business/bypass split in Warwick where US 1 Business runs along Post Road and US 1 Bypass runs along Post Road Bypass. The business route is officially recognized by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation as US 1.
US 1 enters Rhode Island via a small bridge from Pawcatuck, CT to Downtown Westerly. Route 1 winds through Downtown Westerly, passing two shopping plazas (the Granite Street Shopping Center and the Franklin Shopping Plaza) prior to a junction with RI 78, the two-lane highway designed to bypass Downtown. A right onto Airport Road at this intersection provides access to Westerly State Airport, Watch Hill and Misquamicut. Route 1 continues to Dunn's Corners, with Langworthy Road providing more beach access.
The road then becomes a divided highway shortly after, with RI 1A merging into the highway from the Misquamicut area. Route 1 then crosses into Charlestown, RI near Shelter Harbor. After stoplight intersections with Ross Hill Road (RI 216), West Beach Road-providing access to Quonochontaug, East Beach Road-providing access to Blue Shutters Town Beach and East Beach, and Wildflower Road, there are no more stoplights until the end of the freeway after the Wakefield, RI exits. Access to exits on the opposite side of the road are provided through U-turn ramps. The southbound side has junction with Prosser Trail, a road leading to Burlingame State Park. Burlingame access is also located prior to the East Beach Road exit. An exit for Route 1A on the northbound side leads to Ningret Park and the police station. Route 1 bends to the right. On the southbound side is Kings Factory Road. Another junction with Route 1A occurs on Route 1 North. 1A merges onto 1 from the south, briefly, before exiting and continuing north to Cross Mills. Route 1 north then features a ramp providing access to Cross Mills and Route 1A-leading to Charlestown Breachway and Charlestown Town Beach-for those just merging in on a U-turn from Route 1 south via a junction with RI 2 / RI 112 (South County Trail).
Another set of U-turn ramps is located for access to Routes 2 and 112. After northbound junctions with more beach access roads (Falcone Lane, Narrow Lane, which is split in half by the highway, the other half continuing on the southbound side that leads to South County Trail), US 1 continues into South Kingstown, where Green Hill Beach Road (Route 1A) meets US 1 on the northbound side, and Post Road (also Route 1A) meets Route 1 south. After a junction with Moonstone Beach Road (northbound side leads to the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, southbound side leads to Perryville), RI 110 meets Route 1 south. Prior to this on the southbound side, Route 1A meets Route 1. Back to the northbound side, where Matunuck Beach Road is found, leading to the beachside community of Matunuck, RI.
Following this is Succotash Road, which leads to Jerusalem, RI, Snug Harbor, and East Matunuck State Beach. Then comes Post Road, leading to the signed destination-Jerry Brown Farm Road. Another Post Road/Route 1A junction comes on US 1 north, before it meets the highway again after a brief exitless stint. Route 1 south's junction with Post Road/Route 1A north leads to Wakefield and Peace Dale. The road becomes a freeway and has two exits for the Salt Pond/South County Hospital area.
A third exit leads to RI 108 and Narragansett's town beach, Galilee, and Point Judith. A Wakefield exit marks the end of the freeway. Access to South County Commons comes soon. RI 138 meets from the west, and stays on in the concurrency until the exits for access to the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge and Jamestown, and the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and Newport. Route 1 then meets RI 4, a thruway leading to I-95.
History
Except north of downtown Providence, where US 1 was built as the Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike (now Main Street), the highway was never a turnpike road. Portions are the old Boston Post Road, while other parts were built as bypasses, leaving the old road as Route 1A. The turnpike south of Providence — the Providence and Pawcatuck Turnpike and Hopkinton and Richmond Turnpike - followed the diagonal route that I-95 now takes.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
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| Pawcatuck River | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 1 south | Bridge; continuation into Connecticut | |
| Washington | Westerly | 0.1 | 0.16 |  Route 1A north | Southern terminus of Route 1A |
| 0.3 | 0.48 |   Route 3 north (Grove Avenue) to I-95 | Southern terminus of Route 3 | ||
| 2.2 | 3.5 |  Route 78 north to I-95 | Southern terminus of Route 78 | ||
| 5.7 | 9.2 | Route 1A south – Misquamicut State Beach, Watch Hill | |||
| Charlestown | 7.1 | 11.4 |  Route 216 north (Ross Hill Road) | Southern terminus of Route 216 | |
| 9.8 | 15.8 | Route 1A north / Prosser Trail – Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, Burlingame State Park | Right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||
| 11.2 | 18.0 | Route 1A south (Old Post Road) | Northbound right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||
| 11.4 | 18.3 | Route 1A north (Old Post Road) | Northbound right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||
| 11.9 | 19.2 |   Route 2 north / Route 112 north / Cross Mills Road – Kenyon, Carolina, Charlestown Beach | Right-in/right-out with u-turns; southern termini of Routes 2 and 112 | ||
| South Kingstown | 14.3– 14.8 | 23.0– 23.8 | Route 1A (Post Road) to Green Hill Beach Road – Perryville | Right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | |
| 16.4 | 26.4 |  Route 110 north – Kingston, University of Rhode Island | Southbound right-in/right-out with u-turns; southern terminus of Route 110 | ||
| 16.6 | 26.7 | Post Road (Route 1A south) – Perryville | Southbound right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||
| Post Road (Route 1A north) to Camp Fuller Road | Northbound right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||||
| 18.5 | 29.8 | Post Road (Route 1A) – Wakefield | Right-in/right-out with u-turns; former routing of US 1 | ||
| Southern terminus of freeway section | |||||
| 20.6 | 33.2 | Pond Street | |||
| 21.0 | 33.8 | Salt Pond Road – South County Hospital | |||
| Narragansett | 21.4 | 34.4 |  Route 108 south – Narragansett, Point Judith, Scarborough | No southbound entrance | |
| 21.9 | 35.2 | Route 1A – Narragansett | No northbound exit; former routing of US 1 | ||
| South Kingstown | 22.4 | 36.0 | Old Tower Hill Road – Wakefield | ||
| Northern terminus of freeway section | |||||
| 26.3 | 42.3 |  Route 138 west to I-95 south – University of R.I. | Southern terminus of Route 138 concurrency | ||
| North Kingstown | 28.6 | 46.0 | Route 138 east – Jamestown, Newport | Interchange; northern terminus of Route 138 concurrency | |
| 29.5 | 47.5 |    Route 4 north to Route 403 – Quonset, T.F. Green Airport | Southern terminus of Route 4; no northbound access from Route 4 | ||
| 31.5 | 50.7 |  Route 102 (Ten Rod Road / Phillips Street) | |||
| 32.0 | 51.5 | Route 1A south (West Main Street) – Wickford | Northern terminus of Route 1A | ||
| 34.4 | 55.4 | Route 403 | Interchange; exit 3A on Route 403; westbound entrance via Gate Road | ||
| 36.3 | 58.4 |  Route 402 west to Route 4 / I-95 | Eastern terminus of Route 402 | ||
| Hunt River | Bridge | ||||
| Kent | East Greenwich | 38.1 | 61.3 |  Route 401 (First Avenue) to Route 4 | Eastern terminus of Route 401 |
| Warwick | 41.4 | 66.6 |  Route 117 (Centerville Road / West Shore Road) to I-95 | ||
| 41.5 | 66.8 |  Route 5 north (Greenwich Avenue) | Southern terminus of Route 5 | ||
| 42.8 | 68.9 |  Route 113 (Main Avenue) to I-95 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 43.6 | 70.2 | T. F. Green Airport Connector Road to I-95 – T.F. Green Airport | Interchange | ||
| 44.8 | 72.1 |   Route 37 west to I-95 / I-295 – Providence, New York | Interchange, eastern terminus of Route 37, exit 5 on Route 37 | ||
| 45.7 | 73.5 |  US 1A north (Post Road) | Southern terminus of US 1A | ||
| Providence | Cranston | 47.6 | 76.6 |  Route 12 (Park Avenue) | |
| Providence | 48.0 | 77.2 |  Route 10 north to I-95 | Interchange, no access to Route 10 south | |
| 48.5 | 78.1 | I-95 south | Entrance from I-95 south only | ||
| 49.2 | 79.2 | Route 2 south (Reservoir Avenue) | Northern terminus of Route 2 | ||
| 50.4 | 81.1 | Route 117 south (Broad Street) | Northern terminus of Route 117 | ||
| 51.1 | 82.2 |  I-95 / US 6 to I-295 east | Exit 20 on I-95 / US 6 | ||
| 51.6 | 83.0 |  US 44 west (Smith Street) | Southern terminus of concurrency with US 44 | ||
| Francis Street Bridge over the Woonasquatucket River | |||||
| 52.0 | 83.7 | US 44 east (Canal Street / North Main Street) | Northern terminus of concurrency with US 44 | ||
| 52.2 | 84.0 |    Route 246 north (Mill Street) to Route 7 / Route 146 | Southern terminus of Route 246 | ||
| 53.7 | 86.4 |  Route 126 north (Smithfield Avenue) to I-95 | |||
| Pawtucket | 54.1 | 87.1 |  Route 122 north (Main Street) | Southern terminus of Route 126 | |
| 55.3 | 89.0 | I-95 south | Southern terminus of concurrency with I-95 | ||
| 55.5 | 89.3 |  Route 114 (School Street) | Exit 28 | ||
| Pawtucket River Bridge over the Pawtucket River | |||||
| 56.1 | 90.3 | I-95 north | Northern terminus of concurrency with I-95 | ||
| 57.2 | 92.1 | US 1 north – Attleboro | Continuation into Massachusetts | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, United States Numbered Highways Archived 2007-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, 1989 Edition
| U.S. Route 1 | ||
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| Previous state: Connecticut |
Rhode Island | Next state: Massachusetts |