The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a

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 i ...

state

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of state roads and highways, 1,162 bridges, 777 traffic signals, and five rail stations. Additionally, RIDOT has constructed a network of off-road bike paths and signed more than of on-road bike routes across the state. Its headquarters are located in Providence. Rhode Island ports are handled by the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, airports in Rhode Island are overseen by the subsidiary R.I. Airport Corporation, and passenger train service is operated by

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 ...

(a federal semi-public corporation) and the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network i ...

(a state agency of Massachusetts). Through the 1989 Pilgrim Partnership Agreement RIDOT financed construction of the Boston-bound MBTA commuter rail service into Providence and beyond (see

Providence/Stoughton Line The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Pr ...

). Driver's licenses and motor vehicle registrations are the responsibility of the R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles, an office of the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. Two large bridges, the Claiborne Pell (Newport) Bridge and the

Mount Hope Bridge The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge spanning the Mount Hope Bay in eastern Rhode Island at one of the narrowest gaps in Narragansett Bay. The bridge connects the Rhode Island towns of Portsmouth and Bristol and is part of Route ...

, are under the responsibility of the R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority. Presently, the State of Rhode Island has one of the highest proportion of structurally deficient bridges in the United States. According to a report by Transportation 4 America, nearly 68 percent of Rhode Island roads are rated in poor or mediocre condition, and 1 in 5 bridges in the state are structurally deficient – the fourth highest of any state. Additionally, the Providence Viaduct on Interstate 95 and the Route 10-Route 6 junction have structural deficiencies and require significant rehabilitation.

History

The State Board of Public Roads was created in 1902 to oversee construction, improvement, and maintenance of state-owned roadways. Prior to the creation of the Rhode Island State Board of Public Roads, the monitoring and maintenance of public roads was scattered and localized. In 1909 an Automobile division was introduced with the responsibility of registering vehicles, issuing plates, and handling other aspects of vehicle administration. This division would become a precursor to the current

Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles Rhode may refer to: *In Greek mythology: :*Rhodos, goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes :*Rhode, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus * ''Rhode'' (spider), a genus of spiders *Rhode (surname) *Rhode, County Offaly, an Irish town *Rh ...

. As part of the larger government restructuring into a departmental system in 1935, the Department of Public Works was created under PL 1935, chapter 2188. This department took over the responsibilities of the State Board of Public Roads, and included a division of roads and bridges, a division of public buildings, a division of state airports, and a division of harbors and rivers. In 1970 the Rhode Island Department of Transportation was created by statutory authority in PL 1970, chapter 111 (RIGL §42-13-1) in order to bring together in one department all responsibilities relating to transportation. The newly formed Department of Transportation took over the functions of the Department of Public Works, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, and the Council on Highway Safety.

References

External links

Official websiteRhode Island Highway ConditionsGuide to the Department of Transportation State Photolog Highway films
from the Rhode Island State Archives
A Highway Program for Rhode Island
from the Rhode Island State Archives
Department of Transportation Archeology Series
from the Rhode Island State Archives
Department of Transportation Bridge negatives and microfilm
from the Rhode Island State Archives
Department of Transportation Bridge photo albums box list
from the Rhode Island State Archives
Guide to the Turnpike and Bridge Authority photographs, clippings and drawings
from the Rhode Island State Archives
Historic Bridge Inventory Part III: Preservation Plan
from the Rhode Island State Archives * {{authority control Transportation in Rhode Island State departments of transportation of the United States State agencies of Rhode Island 1970 establishments in Rhode Island

History

See also

References

External links