Route 5 Reconstruction

Route 5 is a principal arterial, with an ADT over 20,000, located in a densely developed commercial corridor including the Warwick Mall. BETA worked with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to provide design services for the Reconstruction of Route 5 from Mayfield Avenue in Cranston to Potters Avenue in Warwick including rehabilitation of Bridge No. 185 over the Pawtuxet River. Construction of the section from I-95 South to Potters Avenue has been completed. The section included significant capacity and safety improvements at the Route 5/Route 113 intersection, converting it from a high type interchange design to a more conventional urban intersection and simplifying movements and enhancing safety while reducing vehicle delays. The new design also improved pedestrian access and safety with new controlled crossings with defined pedestrian corridors to navigate the large intersection.

Design of the northern section from Mayfield Avenue to I-95 is underway and includes rehabilitation of the Greenwich Avenue Bridge No. 185 over Pawtuxet River, pavement rehabilitation of Route 5, and reconstruction of the traffic signals at the Route 5 intersections with Mayfield Avenue, Marshalls Plaza, West Natick Road/Warwick Mall, Knight Street, Greenwich Village Apartments, and Shalom Drive. The Knight Street intersection is an upgrade of an old pedestrian crossing between the Pontiac Village and the Warwick Mall which was lightly used due to its location. As part of the project, an effort was made to enhance the safety of crossing in this section due to fatalities that had occurred where pedestrians were unable to utilize available crossings. To promote the use of the crossing, Knight Street was realigned opposite the Warwick Mall entrance and a new traffic signal was designed to incorporate the pedestrian crossing. Sidewalks were designed as part of streetscape improvements to direct pedestrians to the crossing that also introduced a RIPTA bus stop. The replacement of the Greenwich Avenue Bridge No. 185 over Pawtuxet River includes the complete replacement of the bridge superstructure and rehabilitation of the existing substructure.

Extensive traffic data collection and analysis were conducted in the vicinity of the Mall to ensure that proposed improvements are compatible with the Mall’s operations, promoting efficient operations during the busiest seasonal conditions. Options were developed that included new signals, new geometry, roundabouts, and new lane configurations.