![US 1 North Kingstown RI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/US_1_North_Kingstown_RI.jpg)
U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
is a major north–south
state highway through the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
, specifically within the
Providence metropolitan area. Staying close to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
, it is a longer route than
Interstate 95, and many portions are a four-lane
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
.
Route description
US 1 has a business/bypass split in
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
where US 1 Business runs along Post Road and US 1 Bypass runs along Post Road Bypass. The business route is officially recognized by the
Rhode Island Department of Transportation
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...
as US 1.
US 1 enters Rhode Island via a small bridge from
Pawcatuck, CT to Downtown
Westerly. Route 1 winds through Downtown Westerly, passing two shopping plazas (the Granite Street Shopping Center and the Franklin Shopping Plaza) prior to a junction with
RI 78, the two-lane highway designed to bypass Downtown. A right onto Airport Road at this intersection provides access to
Westerly State Airport,
Watch Hill and
Misquamicut. Route 1 continues to Dunn's Corners, with Langworthy Road providing more beach access.
The road then becomes a divided highway shortly after, with
RI 1A merging into the highway from the Misquamicut area. Route 1 then crosses into
Charlestown, RI near Shelter Harbor. After stoplight intersections with Ross Hill Road (
RI 216), West Beach Road-providing access to
Quonochontaug, East Beach Road-providing access to Blue Shutters Town Beach and East Beach, and Wildflower Road, there are no more stoplights until the end of the freeway after the
Wakefield, RI exits. Access to exits on the opposite side of the road are provided through U-turn ramps. The southbound side has junction with Prosser Trail, a road leading to
Burlingame State Park
Burlingame State Park is a public recreation area located in the town of Charlestown, Rhode Island. The state park's offer camping, hiking, and water activities on Watchaug Pond. The park's campground abuts the Burlingame Management Area and K ...
. Burlingame access is also located prior to the East Beach Road exit. An exit for Route 1A on the northbound side leads to Ningret Park and the police station. Route 1 bends to the right. On the southbound side is Kings Factory Road. Another junction with Route 1A occurs on Route 1 North. 1A merges onto 1 from the south, briefly, before exiting and continuing north to Cross Mills. Route 1 north then features a ramp providing access to Cross Mills and Route 1A-leading to Charlestown Breachway and Charlestown Town Beach-for those just merging in on a U-turn from Route 1 south via a junction with
RI 2 /
RI 112 (South County Trail).
Another set of U-turn ramps is located for access to Routes 2 and 112. After northbound junctions with more beach access roads (Falcone Lane, Narrow Lane, which is split in half by the highway, the other half continuing on the southbound side that leads to South County Trail), US 1 continues into
South Kingstown
South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...
, where Green Hill Beach Road (Route 1A) meets US 1 on the northbound side, and Post Road (also Route 1A) meets Route 1 south. After a junction with Moonstone Beach Road (northbound side leads to the
Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, southbound side leads to Perryville),
RI 110 meets Route 1 south. Prior to this on the southbound side, Route 1A meets Route 1. Back to the northbound side, where Matunuck Beach Road is found, leading to the beachside community of
Matunuck, RI.
Following this is Succotash Road, which leads to
Jerusalem, RI, Snug Harbor, and East Matunuck State Beach. Then comes Post Road, leading to the signed destination-Jerry Brown Farm Road. Another Post Road/Route 1A junction comes on US 1 north, before it meets the highway again after a brief exitless stint. Route 1 south's junction with Post Road/Route 1A north leads to
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and
Peace Dale. The road becomes a freeway and has two exits for the Salt Pond/
South County Hospital area.
A third exit leads to
RI 108 and
Narragansett's town beach,
Galilee, and
Point Judith. A Wakefield exit marks the end of the freeway. Access to South County Commons comes soon.
RI 138 meets from the west, and stays on in the concurrency until the exits for access to the
Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge and
Jamestown, and the
Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and
Newport. Route 1 then meets
RI 4, a thruway leading to
I-95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
.
History
Except north of downtown Providence, where US 1 was built as the
Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike (now Main Street), the highway was never a
turnpike road. Portions are the old
Boston Post Road, while other parts were built as bypasses, leaving the old road as
Route 1A. The turnpike south of Providence — the
Providence and Pawcatuck Turnpike and
Hopkinton and Richmond Turnpike - followed the diagonal route that I-95 now takes.
Major intersections
References
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=1, state=Rhode Island, statebefore=Connecticut, stateafter=Massachusetts
01
1 Rhode Island
Transportation in Washington County, Rhode Island
Transportation in Kent County, Rhode Island
Transportation in Providence County, Rhode Island