Route 99, also known as the Woonsocket Industrial Highway, is a numbered state highway running in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a nominally north–south freeway for its entire length. Route 99 serves Manville and the Highland Industrial Park, providing freeway access to the city of Woonsocket from Interstate 295 and Rhode Island Route 146, the latter of which bypasses the city. The southern terminus of Route 99 is at a partial interchange with I-295 and Route 146 in Lincoln. The freeway has one interchange in Manville, a village in Lincoln, before terminating at an at-grade intersection with Rhode Island Route 122 in Woonsocket.
Originally conceived as a freeway linking Route 146 and Interstate 295 with Interstate 495 in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Route 99 was constructed primarily to provide freeway access to Woonsocket and the developing Highland Industrial Park. Although originally proposed to serve Downtown Woonsocket, an alternate routing that terminated at Route 122 and ran closer to the Woonsocket–Cumberland border was later constructed by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The four-lane freeway began construction in 1987 and was completed in 1993. RIDOT has long-range plans to extend Route 99 north to Route 114 in Downtown Woonsocket, but plans for a northerly extension to I-495 have been abandoned.
Route description
Route 99 begins at a partial interchange with I-295 and Route 146 in Lincoln; the route is only accessible from I-295 and Route 146 north, and the mainline of Route 99 south defaults onto Route 146 south with no direct access to Route 146 north. The exit for Route 99 off Route 146 north is accessed via a collector road that also serves Interstate 295 from Route 146.
Route 99 north diverges from Route 146 north and heads in an almost due north direction. The freeway has its only interchange with Sayles Hill Road, an unnumbered road that is used to access the village of Manville and Route 126 (Old River Road). Sayles Hill Road is also used to access Route 146 north, which has no direct freeway connection with Route 99 south.
After the Sayles Hill Road interchange, Route 99 begins to head in a northeastern direction, passing to the west of the densely populated village of Manville and the St. James Cemetery. Route 99 passes over Route 126 (Old River Road), Railroad Street, and the Providence and Worcester Railroad on a single-span bridge before crossing over the Blackstone River into the town of Cumberland. The freeway passes over 2nd Avenue before entering the city of Woonsocket shortly before its northern terminus at a traffic signal with Route 122 (Mendon Road). The road continues northward as Highland Corporate Drive, an unnumbered route that enters the Highland Industrial Park.
History
The origins of Route 99 date back to 1959, when the Rhode Island Department of Public Works (RIDPW) began planning studies for a freeway linking I-95 in Pawtucket with the city of Woonsocket. The freeway was planned in addition to Route 146, the Louisquisset Expressway, to serve the cities and towns of northern Providence County. In 1964, $535,000 (1964 USD) was allocated for further planning studies, but the proposed freeway was ultimately dropped by RIDPW. In 1968, plans for a freeway were revived when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works proposed the construction of a "Woonsocket Connector" linking Woonsocket with Bellingham, Massachusetts and I-495 on a route similar to that of Massachusetts Route 126.