Rhode Island Route 4
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Route 4, also known as the Colonel Rodman Highway, is a numbered state highway located in Washington County and southern Kent County,
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The route is a major north–south
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
in the southern
Providence metropolitan area The Providence metropolitan area is a region extending into eight counties in two states, and is the 38th largest metropolitan area in the United States. Anchored by the city of Providence, Rhode Island, it has an estimated population of 1,622,5 ...
, directly linking Providence with eastern Washington County, the beaches of Narragansett and
South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...
, and the city of Newport. Route 4 begins as a two-lane
divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
at an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in the town of
North Kingstown North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...
, becoming a
limited-access A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...
freeway after . The route has four numbered interchanges before terminating in the city of
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
, where the northbound lanes merge into Interstate 95 (I-95). The origins of Route 4 date back to 1952, when construction began on a short, unnumbered arterial from US 1 to the modern location of exit 3 at Routes 2 and  102 in
Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basil ...
. In 1965, the Rhode Island Department of Public Works began work on a freeway from modern exit 3 north to the merge with I-95. The freeway, designated as Route 4, was completed in 1972. At that time, the Route 4 designation was also applied to the Wickford arterial. In 1988, the missing link in Route 4 between exits 3 and 5 was completed and opened. The
Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...
had long-term plans to upgrade the southernmost portion of Route 4 to freeway status by constructing overpasses at Oak Hill Road and West Allenton Road and a grade separation with US 1. Although the project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2007, the $55 million project has been postponed indefinitely.


Route description

Route 4 begins at a fork in the alignment of U.S. Route 1 in the community of
North Kingstown North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...
; the two left lanes of US 1 default onto Route 4 north, with the right-hand lane carrying Tower Hill Road and US 1 north into the village of
Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basil ...
. Route 4 heads in a northwestern direction as a four-lane
divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
, crossing West Allenton Road at an at-grade intersection with a traffic signal after approximately . The highway continues on a northwesterly projection, passing to the northeast of Kettle Hole Pond and to the southwest of Secret Lake in a heavily forested region. After Secret Lake, the highway curves to the north, crossing Oak Hill Road at another at-grade intersection. Shortly after the intersection with Oak Hill Road, Route 4 transitions from a divided arterial highway into a four-lane limited-access freeway. The freeway passes to the west of Belleville Pond and begins to parallel the alignment of Route 102 (Ten Rod Road) near the community of
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. Route 4 passes over
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's Northeast Corridor railroad before entering the business district of Wickford Junction. The freeway interchanges with Routes 2 and 102 at exit 3, a partial cloverleaf interchange. After the interchange, Route 4 bends to the northeast, beginning a parallel alignment with Route 2 that continues to its northern terminus. Route 4 crosses into the town of East Greenwich, passing under South Road before interchanging with Route 2 at exit 5, a partial cloverleaf interchange. After exit 5, Route 4 passes the
Rhode Island Army National Guard The Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG) is the land force militia for the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It operates under Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code and operates under the command of the state governor while not in feder ...
base to the east and to the Hunt River to the west. Route 4 northbound interchanges with Route 403 at exit 7; Route 403, or the Quonset Freeway, is a four-lane, limited access freeway and spur route of Route 4 that serves the Quonset Business Park and the village of Davisville. Heading southbound, exit 7 is split into exit 7B, which serves the Quonset Freeway, and exit 7A, which serves Route 402 (Frenchtown Road), another spur route connecting the highway to US 1 and Route 2. After exit 7, Route 4 continues northward as a six-lane expressway, passing farmlands to the west and entering a suburban region of East Greenwich. The highway crosses under an overpass at Middle Road before interchanging with Route 401, the freeway's final spur, at another partial cloverleaf interchange. Exit 9 is also used to access Route 2 and I-95 south, which has no direct freeway connection with Route 4 north. Shortly after exit 9, the Route 4 designation ends and the mainline of the highway defaults onto I-95 north.


History

In 1950, the
Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...
passed a $12 million (equivalent to $ in ) bond issue to fund the construction of a , four-lane divided arterial bypass of U.S. Route 1 in Wickford. Construction on the highway began in 1952 and was completed in 1954, at which time the roadway opened as an unnumbered state highway leading from US 1 to Routes 2 and 102 in Wickford. During the late 1950s, a few years after the completion of the arterial, the Rhode Island Department of Public Works (RIDPW) proposed a relocation of Route 2, which, at the time, was the major thoroughfare in the area. No action was taken until 1964, when the RIDPW introduced a study for the "Relocated Route 2" proposal. During the study, drivers who used the Colonel Rodman Highway arterial and were bound for the state capital of Providence were redirected onto Route 2, an accident-prone, four-lane undivided highway near the modern exit 3. In 1965, the planned Route 2 freeway was given the new number of Route 4, leaving Route 2 on its existing alignment. A public hearing was held by the state of Rhode Island on the proposed freeway, which was to be four lanes and have a divided, grassy median. This proposal was later accepted, and construction began two years later. Construction of a long section of Route 4 from what is now exit 5 in East Greenwich to I-95 in Warwick began in 1967 and was completed in 1972. That year, the arterial south of the modern exit 3 was also designated as part of Route 4. The divided highway remains largely intact to this date as the stretch of Route 4 from US 1 to Routes 2 and 102 at exit 3; the only piece of the arterial that has been significantly altered is the construction of a bridge over
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's Northeast Corridor line. By the early 1970s, Route 4 was complete north of exit 5 and south of what would become exit 3, but there was a still a missing piece in the highway between the two exits. In the 1970s, the state of Rhode Island faced several budget problems and environmental concerns, both of which delayed the construction of the missing link for nearly eleven years. Environmental studies on the missing link began in 1977, and the state estimated that the long section of freeway would cost $15–21 million (equivalent to $– million in ) to construct. In 1983, the
Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...
(RIDOT) began construction of the new segment of Route 4 between exits 3 and 5. The project, which ultimately went over budget at $24 million (equivalent to $ million in )), was financed from a $63 million federal grant. In 1986, during excavation for the new right-of-way, the Department of Transportation found archeological items from the Narragansett Indians dating from about 2,000 to 4,500 years prior. Although the findings were not centralized in the area, this caused delays for the extension of the freeway. On August 6, 1988, RIODT completed construction and performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new highway. In January 1990, two police cruisers were severely damaged during a chase on Route 4. A driver was speeding in the southbound lanes of Route 4 near exit 7; when the driver exited at Route 402 (Frenchtown Road), two police officers got into serious accidents in their attempts to pursue the vehicle. After the crashes, the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
restarted efforts to amend police chase policy and avoid further crash-related injuries for officers in the line of duty. In 2000, construction began on the Quonset Freeway, a relocated Route 403 that serves the Quonset Business Park from Route 4. The project included the reconstruction and reworking of exit 7 off Route 4, which was a southbound-only exit serving both Route 403 and Route 402 when constructed. The exit was converted into a
trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...
with new ramps between Route 4, Route 403 and Route 402 and was completed in December 2008, one year ahead of schedule. The project included the construction of a new northbound exit 7 serving Route 403 east.


Future

The
Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...
(RIDOT) has laid out long-term plans for improvements to both the southern and northern termini of Route 4. During the 1980s and 1990s, RIDOT announced plans to eliminate the three traffic lights along the southern end of the highway. The department planned to replace the existing signalized US 1 and Route 4 merge, converting it into a grade-separated interchange with an extensive overpass. This would cut-off access to three local roads that intersect US 1 near the signal. The plan also included the replacement of the two other signaled intersections at West Allenton Road and Oak Hill Road with overpasses; the overpass for West Allenton Road is planned to be constructed as a new exit 4. In the 1990s, the state purchased and demolished several houses in the region to allow for an expanded Route 4 right-of-way in the vicinity of West Allenton Road. The upgrade proposal proved to be very unpopular with North Kingstown residents who lived on the affected local roads. Additionally, RIDOT laid the highway out so that Route 4 would cross through wetlands in the area. This sparked environmental concerns, as one of the large wetlands that would be affected, Froberg's Marsh, was deemed to be of high value by Rhode Island environmentalists. Despite local and environmental concerns, RIDOT still considers the Route 4 upgrade to be the safest way to improve traffic flow in the region. While the Department of Transportation considered upgrading nearby Route 2 to freeway standards as a potential alternative, this plan was ultimately rejected because of its effects on wells in the area. Although the project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2007, the $55 million project has been postponed indefinitely. RIDOT also has long-range plans to construct direct freeway connections linking Route 4 north with I-95 south and I-95 north with Route 4 south. As of November 2010, environmental studies are being prepared for a reconfiguration of the interchange.


Exit list

Exits were renumbered in fall 2018 as part of a statewide conversion to mileage-based exit numbers.


References


External links


2019 Highway Map, Rhode Island
{{Authority control North Kingstown, Rhode Island Warwick, Rhode Island
004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda Ai ...
Transportation in Washington County, Rhode Island Transportation in Kent County, Rhode Island East Greenwich, Rhode Island