Starting at Sakonnet Point, the parking lot at the very southern end of RI 77. To the left of the castle in the background of the second photo is the Claiborne Pell Bridge that takes RI 138 to Newport.


Dirty but not necessarily old shields southbound, and a very old street sign in the intersection itself (taken facing west).


This time the whole sign is old. Rhode Island for some reason likes to use the word BEGINS - as rarely as it signs the BEGINning of the route at all - but puts it on top of the route shield so that it makes no linguistic sense. As this sign shows, this has been RIDOT standard practice for a number of years.


All of the messages to be found on this old bridge. First photo is on the north side of the northbound railing, and the other two are on the southbound railing.


The RI 24/RI 138 Sakonnet River Bridge. It's not over a river per se; the Sakonnet connects Mount Hope Bay to the Rhode Island Sound (east of Long Island Sound), but it's really just another piece of Narragansett Bay separated by Aquidneck Island (aka the actual Rhode Island). Think East River in NYC. This bridge is due to be replaced soon, so catch it while you can (there are more photos on the RI 24 page, linked below).


From the same place, an old, faded LGS on the wrong side of the road attempts to help northbound traffic find Fort Barton. It would work better if northbound traffic still came in from the left behind me (to say nothing of replacing the sign), but now traffic comes in from the right.


This would be why traffic no longer comes from the left. The 1907 Stone Bridge carried RI 138 across the Sakonnet until 1954 and Hurricane Carol, meaning RI 77 began from this point and headed southward. There are plenty of photos on the 138 page, linked below, but I decided to update this page with a few as well:


Follow the sidewalk as far as you dare, up to the fence that warns you not to trespass, onto the bridge that's falling into the water (but RIDOT won't remove it, because they're RIDOT). Look across at Park Ave. in Island Park, which used to be RI 138. Get back in your car, because it's cold out. Continue to do as I tell you.


Drive north, and see this old assembly at Central Ave. Straight is the way to RI 24/138 SB. Bearing right on RI 77 will very soon take you to RI 138 NB, and ramps to RI 24 NB as well. Still, the better way to sign this is with a separate TO SOUTH/NORTH 138 assembly with its own arrows.

To US 6 (in MA)
To RI 24
To RI 138 and more Stone Bridge
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