U.S. Route 6 in Rhode Island - History

History

In Rhode Island, US 6 was originally Route 3 of the New England Interstate Routes, designated in 1922. The part of Route 3 in Rhode Island ran roughly how US 6 does now; the main differences were in Scituate (where it used US 6 Business) and from Johnston east through Providence and East Providence (where it used US 6A, Broadway, Washington Street, Waterman Street, the old Red Bridge and Waterman Avenue, and then turned south on Pawtucket Avenue and east along current Route 103 to reach Massachusetts).

By the time Route 3 became U.S. Route 6 in late 1926, it had been moved to use Waterman Avenue through East Providence to Massachusetts. (In Massachusetts, US 6 turned south on present Route 114A to reach its current alignment.) Waterman Street in Providence had become one-way eastbound by 1930; westbound US 6 came off the Red Bridge and turned north on River Street, west on South Angell Street and Angell Street, and south on Benefit Street.

At some point, possibly by 1929, US 6 had moved from the Red Bridge to the Washington Bridge. In downtown Providence, it turned south on Main Street and east on Fox Point Boulevard (now Interstate 195) to reach the bridge, taking Taunton Avenue (now U.S. Route 44) into Massachusetts (where it turned south on present Route 114A).

US 6 was realigned to bypass downtown to the south via the Point Street Bridge by 1942. It came along Westminster Street from Olneyville, turning southeast on Winter Street (now Fricker Street) and Lockwood Street. A short one-way pair on Lockwood Street and Friendship Street (eastbound) and Pine Street and Summer Street (westbound) led to Point Street and over the bridge of the same name to the west end of Fox Point Boulevard. Upon coming off the Washington Bridge, instead of heading northeast on Taunton Avenue, it had been moved to the more direct Warren Avenue by 1942.

When the Olneyville Bypass opened in 1953, US 6 was rerouted to use it. Eastbound US 6 simply exited the bypass onto Westminster Street to rejoin its old route, but westbound US 6 used a totally different route. It turned northwest on Main Street instead of crossing the Point Street Bridge, and turned west at Waterman Street to reach Promenade Street, then passing through the large rotary north of Union Station onto Kinsley Avenue. (Kinsley Avenue was later one-way eastbound in that area, so US 6 west continued on Promenade Street from the rotary, crossing to Kinsley Avenue somewhere to the west.

When the Broad Freeway - the section of Interstate 195 south of downtown — opened in 1958, it replaced part of eastbound US 6. Instead of turning east on Point Street, US 6 instead continued northeast on Friendship Street to reach the freeway. In 1963 and 1964, Interstate 95 was opened at the west end of I-195; the eastbound entrance from Friendship was slightly moved but otherwise remained the same. To the east of the Washington Bridge, the East Providence Expressway - another section of I-195 - opened in 1959. Maps (and even some current signage) disagree about whether US 6 moved to the new bypass at that point or remained on Warren Avenue.

To the west of the Providence area, the three-lane bypass (1 lane eastbound, 2 westbound) of Scituate opened ca. 1966. This road is signed with US 6 Bypass signs, while the old route is still signed as US 6.

The Dennis J. Roberts Expressway opened in 1971, providing a bypass of US 6 from Interstate 295 in Johnston east to Olneyville. However, US 6 was not moved to it, as it was part of the planned Interstate 84 (approved in 1968). It was assigned the temporary designation of Route 195, as the planned I-84 would continue east from Olneyville to the west end of Interstate 195. The freeway was also signed as US 6 Bypass. However, I-84 was never completed, and in 1991 US 6 was moved to the freeway, with the old route redesignated U.S. Route 6A.

Route 195 was marked with a shield resembling the Interstate Highway shield. This shield, printed on a standard rectangular sign, replaced the word "Interstate" with "Rhode Island", and had black letters and numerals on white background, with a black outline in the shape of the Interstate shield, and a black line separating the state name from the numerals. On green guide signs, the "Rhode Island" and horizontal line were eliminated.

In downtown Providence, US 6 was moved in 1988 with the opening of the Route 6-10 Connector between Olneyville and downtown. US 6 was moved off the long one-way pair and onto the Connector, turning south on Interstate 95 and east on Interstate 195. With the construction of the Iway, traffic will be rerouted to the south.