Exit 6A I-95 RI Hopkins Hill Road

[jon daly]

Does anyone here have info on when and why this exit was built. I'm guessing it is newer that the other RI exits, given the A after the number and that it might've been built with Amgen or the Centre of New England in mind.

[PHLBOS]

IIRC, the interchange was built sometime during the early-to-mid 1980s.  Circa 1984-1985, I recall hearing an ad on WHJY (FM 94.1) for something that was located off the new Exit 6A off I-95. 

Interestingly, that interchange opened not too long after the I-495 extension in MA (between I-95 & MA 24) opened.  I mention that because the then-newly-opened ramps from I-95 to I-495 south was (& is) Exit 6A in MA.  So if one said "the New Exit 6A"; some might ask "Which one... RI or MA?"

Regarding why the interchange was built (& this is just a guess on my part); the Centrex Distribution Center is located just adjacent to the interchange.

[jon daly]

I think that's a good guess as well. There are very few services for drivers, but there are gas stations off of exits 6 & 7 and restaurants off of exit 7. There is a Dunkin' Donuts, but I think those are mandatory every mile or so in southern NE.

[spooky]

GTECH was at one time one of the largest employers in RI and was housed in one of the buildings right off this exit.

I think PHLBOS is right with a guess of early-to-mid 1980s construction of the interchange.

I'm almost certain that the Centre of New England came years later.

[southshore720]

That stretch of I-95 is also home to the infamous "Measured Mile."  This is the only instance on a major interstate I have seen of this.  I have no idea of its logic.  The LGSs are still there to indicate the beginning and end of the Measured Mile.

[jon daly]

GTECH was at one time one of the largest employers in RI and was housed in one of the buildings right off this exit.

I think PHLBOS is right with a guess of early-to-mid 1980s construction of the interchange.

I'm almost certain that the Centre of New England came years later.

Was that Genentech? I wouldn't be surprised if that's the building where Amgen is now.

[southshore720]

This is slated to become Exit 20 once I-95 is renumbered, which will eliminate the awkward suffix.

[jon daly]

This is slated to become Exit 20 once I-95 is renumbered, which will eliminate the awkward suffix.

I under stand the merits of mile-based numbering. But being a native New Englander, I grew up with sequential numbering and like the suffixes. It's a hint, sometimes, about which exits are newer.

[jon daly]

I found what I was looking for 70% down this page:.

http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/I-95_RI/

In 1983, the RIDOT built a new EXIT 6A (Hopkins Hill Road) in West Greenwich. The new four-ramp, partial-cloverleaf interchange was built to accommodate a nearby pharmaceutical plant, and more recently, the 400-acre "Centre of New England" development.

[southshore720]

It's funny how Exit 6A is being promoted in these write-ups for the Centre of New England, when the bulk of the development and easier access is off the New London Turnpike (Exit 7).

[jon daly]

It's funny how Exit 6A is being promoted in these write-ups for the Centre of New England, when the bulk of the development and easier access is off the New London Turnpike (Exit 7).

It looks like it was meant to be much more developed. I don't know if this is the case, but I've only been to that Wal-Mart and its environs twice and it seemed to me that the project stalled. Was it a Great Recession victim?

[PHLBOS]

It's funny how Exit 6A is being promoted in these write-ups for the Centre of New England, when the bulk of the development and easier access is off the New London Turnpike (Exit 7).

It looks like it was meant to be much more developed. I don't know if this is the case, but I've only been to that Wal-Mart and its environs twice and it seemed to me that the project stalled. Was it a Great Recession victim?

More likely a victim of the recession that hit New England real hard circa 1989-1990.

[Bumppoman]

That stretch of I-95 is also home to the infamous "Measured Mile."  This is the only instance on a major interstate I have seen of this.  I have no idea of its logic.  The LGSs are still there to indicate the beginning and end of the Measured Mile.

You can find this several places in NY.  I-88 between exits 3 and 4, and I-390 south of Rochester come to mind.

[KEVIN_224]

What I've wondered about Rhode Island's measured mile in particular: Why doesn't it begin and end at an existing mile marker?