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Route 138 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
RI-138 highlighted in red
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by RIDOT and RITBA | ||||
| Length | 48.3 mi[1] (77.7 km) | |||
| Existed | 1922 (east of Newport) 1932 (west of Newport)–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  Route 138inVoluntown, CT | |||
| Major intersections |  I-95inRichmond US 1inNorth Kingstown Route 24inPortsmouth | |||
| North end |  Route 138inFall River, MA | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Rhode Island | |||
| Counties | Washington, Newport | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 138 is a numbered State Highway running 48.3 miles (77.7 km) in Rhode Island. It is the longest state numbered route in Rhode Island, and the second longest highway after 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 138 takes the following route through the State:
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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 (which has now been partially cut off by the Expressway) and East Shore Road to the 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 U.S. 1inSouth 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. For more information, see Interstate 895 (Rhode Island/Massachusetts).
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.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Exeter | 0.0 | 0.0 |  Route 138 west | Continuation into Connecticut |
| Hope Valley | 5.6 | 9.0 |   Route 3 south (Main Street) | Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 3 | |
| Wyoming | 6.6 | 10.6 |  Route 3 north (Main Street) | Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 3 | |
| 7.1 | 11.4 | I-95 – Providence, Westerly | Exit 7 on I-95; partial cloverleaf interchange | ||
| Richmond | 9.1 | 14.6 |  Route 112 south (Richmond Townhouse Road) | Northern terminus of Route 112 | |
| West Kingston | 14.5 | 23.3 |  Route 2 (South County Trail) | ||
| 15.9 | 25.6 |  Route 110 south (Ministerial Road) | Northern terminus of Route 110 | ||
| Kingston | 17.5 | 28.2 |  Route 108 south (Kingstown Road) | Northern terminus of Route 108 | |
| South Kingstown | 21.0 | 33.8 | US 1 south / Bridgetown Rd | Western terminus of concurrency with US 1 | |
| North Kingstown | 23.3 | 37.5 | US 1 north – Providence | Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 1; western terminus of freeway section; cloverleaf interchange | |
| 25.6 | 41.2 |  Route 1A – Wickford, Narragansett | |||
| Narragansett Bay West Passage | 26.2– 27.4 | 42.2– 44.1 | Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge | ||
| Newport | Jamestown | 27.8 | 44.7 | Helm Street (east) / Beacon Avenue (west) | |
| 28.1 | 45.2 | Main Road | Westbound entrance only | ||
| 28.5 | 45.9 | Eldred Avenue | Westbound entrance only | ||
| 29.6 | 47.6 | Conanicus Avenue (east) / East Shore Road (west) – Jamestown | |||
| Narragansett Bay East Passage | 30.2– 32.1 | 48.6– 51.7 | Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (R.I. E-ZPass $3.17; Pay-by-Plate $4.00) | ||
| Newport | 32.4 | 52.1 |  Route 238 south – Downtown Newport | Northern terminus of Route 238 | |
| 33.1 | 53.3 | Admiral Kalbfus Road west | Eastern terminus of freeway section; east/west designation changes to north/south | ||
| Middletown | 34.5 | 55.5 |  Route 114 north (West Main Road) | Southern terminus of Route 114 | |
| 34.9 | 56.2 |  Route 214 (Valley Road) | |||
| 35.5 | 57.1 |  Route 138A south (Aquidneck Avenue) | Northern terminus of Route 138A | ||
| Portsmouth | 43.3 | 69.7 | Route 24 south / Boyds Lane – Middletown, Newport | Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 24, exit 2 on Route 24 | |
| 44.8 | 72.1 | Anthony Road (south) / Hummocks Avenue (north) – Common Fence Point | Exit 3 on Route 24 | ||
| Sakonnet River | 45.0– 45.3 | 72.4– 72.9 | Sakonnet River Bridge | ||
| Tiverton | 45.3 | 72.9 |    ToRoute 77 / Route 177 – Tiverton, Little Compton | Former exit 4 on Route 24/old Sakonnet River Bridge | |
| 45.6 | 73.4 | Route 24 north – Fall River, MA, Taunton, MA, Boston, MA, Cape Cod | Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 24, exit 4 on Route 24 | ||
| 45.7 | 73.5 | Route 77 south (Main Road) – Tiverton, Little Compton | Northern terminus of Route 77 | ||
| 48.3 | 77.7 | Route 138 north – Fall River | Continuation into Massachusetts | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Route 138A | |
|---|---|
| Location | Newport–Middletown |
| Length | 4.6 mi[2] (7.4 km) |
Route 138A is a numbered state highway running 4.6 miles (7.4 km) 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 (which goes to Goat Island) where it follows America's Cup Avenue southwards, travels through downtown Newport, past the Newport beaches, and north through Middletown where it connects with Route 138.
Route description
History
Most of the streets along Route 138A were built after 1965. Route 138A never represented an old alignment of Route 138.
Major intersections
The entire route is in Newport County.
| Location | mi[3] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport | 0.0 | 0.0 |  Route 238 (America's Cup Avenue) to Route 138 – Goat Island | Southern terminus | |
| 0.9 | 1.4 | Bellevue Avenue | |||
| Middletown | 2.3 | 3.7 | Purgatory Road | ||
| 2.6 | 4.2 | Route 214 north (Valley Road) | Southern terminus of Route 214 | ||
| 3.6 | 5.8 | Green End Avenue | |||
| 4.6 | 7.4 | Route 138 (East Main Road) | Northern terminus | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
