Lane splits at Route 99 to begin Friday night

LINCOLN, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced that they will split the lanes on the bridge carrying Route 99 southbound over Route 146 in order to complete bridge preservation work on the center of the bridge.

While that split is in place, RIDOT said that they may need to close one of the two lanes on the route from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., though they note that those will only occur on Sunday through Thursday nights.

No detours will be necessary.

This work is being done as part of RIDOT’s larger Route 146 reconstruction project, which includes the creation of a flyover bridge at the highway’s only intersection in Rhode Island and the reworking of Exit 10 in North Smithfield.

The new traffic pattern is expected to remain in place for two months, before an additional lane shift takes effect.

RIDOT says the bridge’s traffic pattern will be back to its usual configuration this fall.