RIDOT schedules temporary three-lane road-diet trial on Warwick’s Main Avenue
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation scheduled a temporary road-diet trial for a section of Main Avenue in Warwick, with restriping planned to begin Friday night, July 10, 2026.
Under the announced plan, the Route 113 roadway was to change from four lanes to one travel lane in each direction and one center two-way left-turn lane. The announcement described the arrangement as a temporary trial, not a permanent lane change.
The affected stretch runs from Warwick Industrial Drive to West Shore Road, also designated Route 117. Motorists using that section of Main Avenue were expected to encounter a different through-traffic pattern after the planned restriping.
What the temporary layout would do
The planned configuration would provide a single lane for through traffic in each direction. The center lane would be reserved as a two-way left-turn lane, rather than serving as an additional through lane.
That represents a change from the four-lane layout identified by RIDOT in its advisory. The agency said the temporary arrangement would remain in place while motorists adjusted to the revised roadway layout.
RIDOT did not present the July 10 work as a final decision to permanently reduce the number of through lanes. The source packet does not include a later report confirming the restriping occurred, describing traffic conditions after the change or measuring the trial’s results.
Part of the Warwick Corridor project
The Main Avenue work is part of the ongoing Warwick Corridor project, according to RIDOT. The agency said road diets are commonly used to address speeding, crashes and narrow lanes.
That statement describes RIDOT’s stated rationale for this type of roadway treatment. It does not establish that the Main Avenue trial reduced speeding or crashes, and the available source includes no collision analysis or traffic-performance results for this corridor.
The change affects a principal Warwick route linking the area around Warwick Industrial Drive and West Shore Road. For drivers, the practical change in the announced plan was the reduction to one through lane in each direction across the specified segment, with left-turn movements directed to the center lane.
Fall review was the next announced step
RIDOT and the City of Warwick planned to assess the road diet in fall 2026 to determine whether the temporary configuration should become permanent. That review was identified as a future decision point, not an approval of a permanent design.
No final determination on permanence was documented in the supplied source. The available information therefore establishes the scheduled temporary trial and the planned fall assessment, but not the outcome of either the implementation or the review.
Sources
- Travel Advisory: Road Diet Coming to Section of Main Avenue in Warwick Starting July 10, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
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