NORTH SMITHFIELD – The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has announced that a series of nighttime lane and partial road closures at the intersection of Route 146 and Sayles Hill Road in North Smithfield starting on Sunday, Oct. 30. The closures may be needed for up to one month.
The closures will allow RIDOT to install underground utilities at the intersection, according to a release from the department. It is one of the first pre-construction activities RIDOT has planned before starting construction “in earnest,” next spring on the expansive $196 million Route 146 Reconstruction Project, the agency notes.
Work on Route 146 will take place Sunday-Thursday nights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. RIDOT will close one of the two travel lanes on Route 146 in both directions but at all times keep at least one lane in each direction open.
RIDOT may close one direction of Sayles Hill Road on both sides of the highway on Sunday-Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. On occasion, the detour may be extended to 2 p.m., according to the department. Local traffic will be permitted.
When Sayles Hill Road closures are needed, westbound traffic heading toward Route 146 from Manville will follow Route 99 South to Route 146 South. Motorists heading eastbound toward Route 146 from Iron Mine Hill Road can turn left to follow Sayles Hill Road to the Route 146 South on-ramp. Drivers wanting to head north on Route 146 can reverse direction using the I-295 interchange.
The project will make needed improvements to the Route 146 corridor, making it safer, improving transit connections, and reducing congestion and vehicle emissions according to RIDOT. The project will replace or repair five bridges, repave eight miles of roadway and build a flyover bridge to carry Route 146 over Sayles Hill Road – eliminating the traffic signal at Sayles Hill Road, the only traffic light on Rhode Island’s portion of Route 146. This intersection averages more than 85 crashes per year and is a source of significant congestion and travel delay.
The project was funded in part by a $65 million federal INFRA grant – the largest the state ever received – which was secured by Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation. It will be finished in summer 2026.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
For more information, visit www.ridot.net/Route146.
