The United States Numbered Highway System is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these highways were coordinated among the states, they are sometimes called Federal Highways, but the roadways were built and have always been maintained by state or local governments since their initial designation in 1926.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
Interstate 295 (I-295), sometimes called the Providence Beltway, is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It is maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning nearly 27 miles (43 km), it forms a western beltway around Providence, Rhode Island, and is a bypass of I-95 as it travels through the capital city. I-895 was proposed as a complementary eastern beltway to complete a full loop around the city in the 1960s but was ultimately scrapped in the 1980s.
Interstate 195 (I-195) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway running a combined 44.55 miles (71.70 km) in the US states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It travels from a junction with I-95 in Providence, Rhode Island, east to a junction with I-495 and Massachusetts Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts. It runs east–west and passes through the cities of Fall River, Massachusetts, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The portion of I-195 in East Providence is also known as the East Providence Expressway.
Route 4, also known as the Colonel Rodman Highway, is a 10.37-mile-long (16.69 km) numbered state highway located in Washington County and southern Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a major north–south freeway in the southern Providence metropolitan area, directly linking Providence with eastern Washington County, the beaches of Narragansett and South Kingstown, and the city of Newport. Route 4 begins as a two-lane divided highway at an intersection with U.S. Route 1 in the town of North Kingstown, becoming a limited-access freeway after 1.89 miles (3.04 km). The route has four numbered interchanges before terminating in the city of Warwick, where the northbound lanes merge into Interstate 95 (I-95).
Route 10 is a numbered state highway connector in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, traveling along the Huntington Expressway, the first freeway in the state. It connects Route 12 on the Cranston–Providence city line with Interstate 95 (I-95), U.S. Route 6 (US 6), and Memorial Boulevard in downtown Providence, passing just east of the Olneyville area of Providence. It provides an alternate route to I-95 south of downtown, and connects it with the US 6 freeway west from Olneyville towards I-295 and Connecticut.
Route 24 is a freeway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It runs approximately 8 miles (13 km) from Route 114 in Portsmouth to Massachusetts Route 24 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Route 24 is the primary freeway access for the two towns in the southeastern corner of the state, Tiverton and Little Compton. Though on the mainland, they are isolated from the rest of the state by an arm of the Narragansett Bay. Because of this, the main freeway connection to Providence involves using Rhode Island Route 24, Massachusetts Route 24, and Interstate 195.
Route 37 is a state highway running 3.47 miles (5.58 km) in Providence County and Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. A freeway for its entire length, it serves the cities of Cranston and Warwick and is also a major east–west freeway in the Providence metropolitan area, linking T. F. Green Airport with Interstate 295. The western terminus of Route 37 is an at-grade intersection with Natick Avenue in Cranston. The freeway has numbered interchanges with I-295, Rhode Island Route 2, Pontiac Avenue, and I-95 before terminating at a trumpet interchange with U.S. Route 1 in Warwick.
Route 51 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It runs approximately 5.4 miles (8.7 km) from Route 115 in West Warwick to Route 12 in Cranston.
Route 78, also known as the Westerly Bypass, is a two-lane arterial boulevard and expressway between Pawcatuck, Connecticut, to Westerly, Rhode Island. The route is about 4.6 miles (7.4 km) long and begins at Connecticut Route 2 in Stonington, crossing into Rhode Island at the Pawcatuck River, where it continues as an expressway to U.S. Route 1 in Westerly. The route was constructed in 1979, after a sixteen-year delay. The designation was to become part of the Orient Point–Watch Hill Bridge, but this plan was later dropped. The route was given the memorial name of Veterans Way in 2004.
Route 99, also known as the Woonsocket Industrial Highway, is a numbered state highway running 2.9 miles (4.7 km) in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a nominally north–south freeway for its entire length. Route 99 serves Manville and the Highland Industrial Park, providing freeway access to the city of Woonsocket from Interstate 295 and Rhode Island Route 146, the latter of which bypasses the city. The southern terminus of Route 99 is at a partial interchange with I-295 and Route 146 in Lincoln. The freeway has one interchange in Manville, a village in Lincoln, before terminating at an at-grade intersection with Rhode Island Route 122 in Woonsocket.
The Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, is a suspension bridge operated by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority that spans the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. The bridge, part of RI 138, connects the city of Newport on Aquidneck Island and the Town of Jamestown on Conanicut Island, and is named for longtime Rhode Island U.S. senator Claiborne Pell who lived in Newport. The Pell Bridge is in turn connected to the mainland by the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge.
Route 114 is a 45.7-mile-long (73.5 km) numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It connects the city of Newport to the city of Woonsocket. Route 114 was a major north–south artery for its entire length until the arrival of the Interstate Highway System. It is still a major commercial corridor on Aquidneck Island and in northern Rhode Island.
Route 138 is a numbered State Highway running 48.3 miles (77.7 km) in Rhode Island. It is the longest state numbered route in Rhode Island, and the second longest highway after US 1. Route 138 begins in Exeter at the Connecticut state line in the west and runs to the Massachusetts state line in Tiverton in the east, and is the only state-numbered route to completely cross Rhode Island. Route 138 also keeps the same route number on the other side of both state lines.
Route 146 is a 16.24-mile (26.14 km) north-south expressway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). Spanning approximately 16 miles (26 km) along a northwest–southeast axis, it links the cities of Providence, Woonsocket, and Worcester, Massachusetts.
Route 403, also known as the Quonset Freeway, is a numbered state highway located in Washington County and Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a nominally east–west limited-access freeway for its entire length. A spur of Rhode Island Route 4, Route 403 serves Davisville and the Quonset Business Park, providing freeway access to Interstate 95 and the northern Providence metropolitan area from the industrial zone. The western terminus of the freeway is at a trumpet interchange with Route 4 in East Greenwich. The route has three unnumbered interchanges along its 4.5-mile (7.2 km) length, including a junction with U.S. Route 1 in North Kingstown, before terminating at an at-grade intersection with Roger Williams Way and Commerce Park Road in Quonset. Route 403 is the highest numbered route in Rhode Island.
The Massachusetts State Highway System in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a system of state-numbered routes assigned and marked by the highway division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). U.S. Highways and Interstate Highways are included in the system; the only overlaps are with the end-to-end U.S. Route 3 and Route 3 and the far-apart Interstate 295, shared with Rhode Island, and Route 295, shared with New York State. A state highway in Massachusetts is a road maintained by the state, which may or may not have a number. Not all numbered routes are maintained or owned by the state.
The East Bay Bike Path is a 14.5-mile (23.3 km) paved rail trail in Rhode Island. The path begins in Providence and India Point Park, crosses the Seekonk River via the George Redman Linear Park and Washington Bridge and continues southeast to Bristol along the shoreline of Narragansett Bay. The path passes through the city of East Providence, the hamlet of Riverside, and the towns of Barrington and Warren. It is part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile system of trails connecting the Canada–US border in Maine to Key West. and provides access to Haines State Park, Brickyard Pond (Barrington), and Colt State Park. It is used annually by 1.1 million people.
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 state roads and highways, 1,162 bridges, 777 traffic signals, and six rail stations. Additionally, RIDOT has constructed a 50-mile (80 km) network of off-road bike paths and signed more than 90 miles (140 km) of on-road bike routes across the state. Its headquarters are located in Providence.
Highways are split into at least four different types of systems in the United States: Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, state highways, and county highways. Highways are generally organized by a route number or letter. These designations are generally displayed along the route by means of a highway shield. Each system has its own unique shield design that will allow quick identification to which system the route belongs.
