The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is scheduled to begin the Route 138 bridge replacement at Kingston Station in South Kingstown on Friday night, Nov. 20, by shifting all traffic to the north side of the bridge over the railroad tracks. The station is served by Amtrak trains and RIPTA buses.

The department will demolish and rebuild the southern half of the bridge first. After about a year, traffic moves onto the new half and crews rebuild the other side. The department says the replacement is scheduled to be done by the end of 2028, and cautions that all construction schedules can change with needs, circumstances, findings and weather.

What changes for station users

The department's travel advisory, released Nov. 9, lists these changes:

  • A temporary traffic signal and crosswalks go in at Route 138 and Railroad Avenue.

  • All station access is through the southern entrance of Railroad Avenue. The department will remove the traffic island there so eastbound and westbound drivers can both use it.

  • The part of Railroad Avenue that passes under Route 138 closes, and 10 spaces in the northern overflow lot are removed. Drivers who park in that lot will walk to the station along Railroad Avenue sidewalks and use the new crosswalk.

  • The dedicated left-turn lane for westbound Route 138 at Fairgrounds Road is removed until the bridge work ends.

  • South County Bike Path users may park in the main lot but must park near the trailhead at the far end. University of Rhode Island parking at the station remains prohibited.

The station has 344 parking spaces after a summer 2026 expansion that added 129, the department says. Ten spaces are about 3 percent of that total, a Six State Signal calculation. The department says it timed the start of bridge work to follow the expansion.

Part of an $82.3 million project

The bridge is part of the Route 138 Corridor project, which also covers new sidewalks, traffic signal upgrades and resurfacing from Route 2 (South County Trail) to Route 108 (Kingstown Road). The department puts the project at $82.3 million and says it expects to finish in spring 2029.

The corridor work is still in design, and the department hopes to start it later in 2027. It cautions that construction schedules can change with needs, circumstances, findings and weather.

The advisory does not say whether Amtrak or RIPTA service will change during construction. A map of the new station access is on the department's detour maps page. The travel advisory is posted on RI.gov.