New Bedford drivers face overnight Route 18 closures and I-195 ramp detours Nov. 15 to 29

NEW BEDFORD Route 18 in New Bedford may close both ways overnight, 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., on nights from Sunday, Nov. 15, to Sunday, Nov. 29, for Interstate 195 interchange work, the state Transportation Department says.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said in an advisory Friday, Nov. 13, that the start of the I-195/Route 18 Interchange Rehabilitation Project will continue and that the first construction steps require several ramp closures on I-195 and street and sidewalk closures on New Bedford roads. Most closures will be put in place as needed during those two weeks, with signs to guide drivers, and all of the work depends on the weather and can change without notice, the agency said.

Several of the closures run around the clock, and two ramps stay closed until the summer of 2027, according to the advisory, so drivers who use Coggeshall Street, Purchase Street or the I-195 ramps around Route 18 will run into detours over the two weeks.

Route 18 overnight

When Route 18 is closed at night, MassDOT gives northbound drivers two routes. The first turns right onto MacArthur Drive, left onto Herman Melville Boulevard and left onto Coggeshall Street. Drivers coming from Route 6 can instead stay on Fish Island Road, turn right onto Purchase Street, right onto Logan Street, left onto North Front Street and left onto Coggeshall Street. Southbound drivers stay on Coggeshall Street, turn left onto Purchase Street, left onto Hillman Street and right onto MacArthur Drive. Separate daytime lane closures may also be set up on Route 18 in either direction from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the advisory said.

I-195 ramps

The ramp from I-195 westbound at Exit 26 to Route 18 southbound, which MassDOT calls Ramp C, and the I-195 westbound on-ramp from Route 18, Ramp D, are both closed until the summer of 2027, the advisory says. For Ramp C, drivers stay on I-195 west, take Exit 24A, then Exit 2A toward Cape Cod to get back on I-195 east, and take Exit 26. For Ramp D, drivers take I-195 east toward Cape Cod, get off at Exit 31B, North Street, and follow signs back onto I-195 west.

The Cedar Grove Street ramp onto I-195 westbound is closed around the clock, and drivers are sent to Mount Pleasant Street, right onto Coggeshall Street and onto I-195 west from the on-ramp there, MassDOT said. Three more ramps may close overnight from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. The I-195 eastbound exit to Penniman Street, Exit 25, detours drivers to Exit 27, then Belleville Avenue, Coggeshall Street, Mount Pleasant Street and Penniman Street. The Route 18 northbound ramp to I-195 east detours along Coggeshall Street, Belleville Avenue and Washburn Street to signed access. The I-195 westbound exit to Coggeshall Street, Exit 28, sends drivers to Exit 24A, Exit 2A and back east on I-195 to Exit 27.

Street closures

State Street between Cedar Grove Street and Penniman Street is closed to drivers and walkers at all hours, with a detour on Cedar Grove Street, County Street, Penniman Street and Purchase Street. County Street between Cedar Grove and Penniman, and Purchase Street between Coggeshall and Penniman, may each close to drivers and walkers from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and from 3 to 11 p.m., according to the advisory. The County Street detour runs over Penniman, Purchase and Cedar Grove streets, and the Purchase Street detour runs over Clark Street, County Street and Coggeshall Street northbound and over Coggeshall Street, Ashley Boulevard and Weld Street southbound, for drivers and people on foot alike.

In the daytime, Cedar Grove Street between County Street and Purchase Street, and Purchase Street between Cedar Grove and Penniman, may close from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the Purchase Street work switching between the northbound and southbound sides. North Front Street between Washburn Street and Cedar Grove, Belleville Avenue between Washburn and Cedar Grove, and Kenyon Street between Belleville Avenue and North Front Street may close from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Penniman Street between State Street and Purchase Street may lose a lane during those same hours, the advisory says.

MassDOT posts a graphic for each detour on its traffic detour page for the project. The longer closure of the I-195 east ramp to Route 18 south, due in December, is in our Nov. 1 report on the rebuild.

Fall River and Swansea

In Fall River, MassDOT will install a wrong-way vehicle detection system on the I-195 Exit 13 ramps at Plymouth Avenue, eastbound and westbound, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The on-ramp and off-ramp will be narrowed, lanes and shoulders may close, and police will help with traffic, the agency said in a separate advisory, adding that it expects the work to be done Tuesday afternoon.

In Swansea, crews will inspect ancillary structures on Route 6 westbound at Gardners Neck Road on Thursday, Nov. 19, and Friday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, with lane and shoulder closures on Route 6 westbound, at least one lane open at all times and police on hand, MassDOT said, and it expects that work to wrap up Friday afternoon.

What drivers should do

MassDOT tells drivers in all three work zones to expect delays, slow down and use caution, and its New Bedford advisory reminds them that work zone speed limits are the law. The agency says drivers can check live cameras, travel times and project information before they leave on the Mass511 app or at mass511.com, sign up there for text and email alerts, or dial 511 and pick a route to hear conditions.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.