Rhode Island Route 138


Route 138 is a numbered State Highway running in Rhode Island. It is the longest state numbered route in Rhode Island, and the second longest highway after U.S. [Route 1 in Rhode Island|US 1]. Route 138 begins in Exeter at the Connecticut state line in the west and runs to the Massachusetts state line in Tiverton in the east, and is the only state-numbered route to completely cross Rhode Island. Route 138 also keeps the same route number on the other side of both state lines.
Route 138 is a major thoroughfare in southern Rhode Island. The route ultimately connects Interstate 95 and the University of Rhode Island campus with the island town of Jamestown, the city of Newport, as well as the Tiverton-Little Compton coastal region. At the Massachusetts border in Fall River, the route continues as Massachusetts Route 138, which extends north into the Greater Boston area.

Route description

Route 138 takes the following route through the state:

History

Route 138 used the Stone Bridge over the Sakonnet River until 1954.
Before the opening of the Jamestown section of the Route 138 Expressway in 1994, Route 138 came off the Jamestown Bridge and used Eldred Avenue and East Shore Road to the Newport Bridge|Newport Pell Bridge]. As of 2005, there is still a Route 138 reassurance marker northbound on East Shore Road just north of the Newport Pell Bridge.
Prior to the construction of the Route 138 Expressway in North Kingstown, Route 138 used Bridgetown Road east of US 1 in South Kingstown, then north on Route 1A into North Kingstown, then along an access road to the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge which was upgraded on the spot to the Route 138 Expressway.
There are two abandoned temporary ramps at the west end of the Jamestown Bridge used by through traffic in the early 1990s. These ramps connected through traffic to the old bridge while the new one was being built. The new Jamestown–Verrazzano Bridge opened in 1992. These ramps have since been converted into access points to the local beaches.
The Route 138 Expressway was intended to extend west to Interstate 95.
Route 138 officially goes from being signed east–west to being signed north–south at the intersection of Admiral Kalbfus Road and West Main Road on the Middletown–Newport line.

Related routes

Route 138A

Route 138A is a numbered state highway running through Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Route 138A is a "scenic route" highway that begins at Route 238 at the intersection of America's Cup Avenue and Gladys Carr Bolhouse Road where it follows America's Cup Avenue southwards, travels through downtown Newport along Memorial Boulevard, past the Newport beaches, and north through Middletown along Aquidneck Avenue where it connects with Route 138.
Most of the streets along Route 138A were built after 1965. Route 138A never represented an old alignment of Route 138.
Major intersections

Route 238

Route 238 was a numbered state highway running in Newport, Rhode Island. Its southern terminus was at Thames Street in Newport, and its northern terminus was at Route 138 in Newport. This route was retired in 2023 and its entire alignment was added to Route 138A, though many Route 238 signs remain in place along America's Cup Avenue. It began at the intersection of Halsey Boulevard, the Newport Bridge, and the J.T. Connell Connector. It ran south along J.T. Connell Highway, Farewell Street, and America's Cup Avenue, ending at the intersection with Thames Street and Memorial Boulevard where it became Route 138A.
Major intersections