The Rt. 146/State Offices exit on I-95N is moving Jan. 6. Here's what to know.

PROVIDENCE − Interstate 95 North through downtown Providence will be getting a big makeover starting Jan. 6 as the state moves the Route 146/state offices exit a mile south to push merging and exiting traffic off the highway and onto a service road.

The new configuration for I-95 is part of the state's plan to ease congestion through the corridor by allowing two lanes of traffic to bypass the area where drivers are trying to exit for Route 146 and state offices at the same time that drivers from Route 6/10 and downtown are try to merge onto I-95.

Plans for a Dec. 1 start date for the new exit onto the service road, which represents the final configuration style for the viaduct, were postponed in late November until "after the holidays."

For northbound drivers on I-95, the change will be in place starting Saturday, Jan. 6.

Exit 38 (old exit 23), for Route 146 and state offices will be moved a mile south, or a mile sooner. Drivers need to be in the right lane as they near the Atwells Avenue overpass and Downtown Providence exits to access the new exit for Route 146 and state offices the state Department of Transportation says.

What's the new plan for I-95 North through downtown Providence?

When the new traffic pattern starts Jan. 6, drivers headed to Route 146/state offices will get off the freeway a mile sooner, in the right lane. They will follow a "collector-distributor road" that they will follow north roughly parallel to I-95 and then peel off to Route 146 or the state offices before the collector-distributor road rejoins I-95 North.

"People need to make sure they're prepared to make that choice for Route 146 sooner than they have to do it now," State Department of Transportation Spokesman Charles St. Martin previously told The Providence Journal.

The two left lanes of I-95 will carry through traffic north undistracted by any further exits until Branch Avenue.

The life-changing interstate: How Interstate 95 became integral to life in Rhode Island, from Hopkinton to Pawtucket

The collector-distributor road carrying traffic to the Route 146/state offices exit – and then rejoining I-95 North – will initially have three lanes; a fourth lane will be added next year, St. Martin said.

What's a collector-distributor road?

The central idea behind the redesign of I-95 through downtown Providence is to use a collector-distributor road to separate all the people entering and exiting the freeway from the two left lanes of through traffic.

Drivers are "weaving" from the far left lanes to the far right lanes to get to the Route 146 exit, while drivers entering the freeway from Route 6/10 and downtown are trying to get to the left to avoid being stuck in the Route 146 exit-only lane. The new service road parallel to the freeway should relieve the congestion.

A one-page explainer from Texas A&M University says that the primary purpose of collector distributor roads is to "move the weaving and lane changing away from the high-speed traffic on the freeway main lanes."

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New Route 146 exit opens on I-95 North on Jan. 6, 2024 in Providence