Travel Advisory: Detour Scheduled for Route 37 East to Route 1 South in Warwick

RHODE ISLAND, March 31 - Starting Monday night, April 6, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will establish a detour for traffic on Route 37 East heading to Post Road (Route 1) South, toward Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick. The current off-ramp (Exit 3A) will be closed and a temporary traffic signal will be activated on Post Road to assist detouring traffic.

The detour is needed as part of RIDOT's ongoing multi-bridge project for Route 37. The Department will remove the deficient bridge carrying Route 37 over Post Road and rebuild the entire interchange using a signalized intersection instead of the current ramp system.

Route 37 Eastbound traffic headed to Post Road southbound will drive past the closed exit, cross over the bridge and follow the ramp down to the temporary traffic signal, where they can turn left onto Post Road heading south. The current ramp that provides access to Post Road northbound toward Elmwood Avenue will not change. A detour map is available at www.ridot.net/DetourMaps.

With the ramp closed, all Route 37 traffic will be operating on the Route 37 westbound bridge. This will allow RIDOT to begin demolition of the eastbound portion of the bridge. That work will be ongoing through the summer, with demolition of the second half of the bridge scheduled for later in 2026.

The elimination of the bridge over Post Road and its associated ramps is being done to right-size the highway where it ends in Warwick. The current design was built in the 1960s in anticipation of a future continuation of Route 37 eastward that was never built. In addition to the cost savings of not having to rebuild the bridge and maintain it over its lifespan, the new design will free up land for wetlands restoration and commercial redevelopment opportunities.

The work at Post Road is part of the larger $142.8 million project that is addressing six bridges in Warwick and Cranston, including bridges over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and bridges over New London Avenue (Route 2) and Oaklawn Avenue (Route 5). The Post Road interchange work is scheduled to be done by the end of 2027 and the entire project will be done in summer 2028. Additional information on this project and two earlier Route 37 bridges projects, as well as a sign-up form to receive regular project updates, is available online at www.ridot.net/projects/Route37.

With this and its earlier completed Route 37 projects, RIDOT is investing over $300 million to rehabilitate or replace 27 bridges and make safety and congestion improvements in this critical east-west freeway in central Rhode Island. With a daily traffic count of 42,000 vehicles, Route 37 is one of the state's busiest corridors.

All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings and weather.

The Route 37 project is made possible by RhodeWorks. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island's infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.