Get Ready to Say Goodbye to the Current I-95 Exit Numbers
We can't wait to ignore the changes and continue to tell people to take "old exit nine" to get to South County for years to come.
Those who regularly hit the Rhode have another (we know a lot of you are still salty over the license plate debacle) big change coming their way this summer: Almost every exit along I-95 from the Connecticut border in Hopkinton to the Massachusetts border in Pawtucket is getting a new number assignment. Only the Rte. 3/Hopkinton/Westerly off ramps on both sides of the interstate will get to keep their original designations as Exit 1. After that, the numbers will line up with key mile markers, meaning that because the Hopkinton/Hope Valley exit is approximately three miles from Exit 1, it will now be called Exit 4, while Rte. 138/South Kingstown/Hope Valley being another three miles away will put it at Exit 7, and so on and so forth. The renumbering process will begin on July 31 (though temporary signs displaying the old numbers will accompany the new signage to allow drivers to get accustomed to the change).
But why?
Before you sharpen your pitchforks and dust off your keyboards in preparation to go after the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, let it be known this change is actually a mandate by the Federal Highway Administration that’s been years in the making, and it’s a system already utilized by a majority of the country. In fact, Rhode Island is one of just a few final states to have held onto its antiquated numbering system for as long as it has (are we surprised?). RIDOT also points out on its website that the changes do actually come with a few benefits, including the ease with which drivers will now be able to determine how long they need to drive before they reach their off ramp, along with the fact that future interchange expansions will be less of hassle because the highway will not have to be renumbered (once again) to accommodate new exits.
So, RIP Exit 9 South. I’ll always know you as the number that brought me to my favorite spots in the state. And so long Exits 14A and 14B North, I hardly knew ya (seriously, I used them so seldom that I never knew where I was going to end up when I took either).
And even though we know a lot of you are thinking they’ll have to pry the old exit numbers from your cold, dead hands, you can find the official lineup of new numbers here.
