Van fire, road repairs snarl RI traffic

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Drivers travelling east on Route 195, and south on Routes 95 and 146 Friday afternoon were in for some pretty hefty delays. Lane closures on Route 195 in East Providence and and a van fire on 95 in Cranston snarled up traffic for miles.

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State police said a carpet cleaning van caught fire on Route 95 South about a 1/2 mile north of Jefferson Blvd - forcing troopers and Cranston firefighters to shut down two lanes of traffic for about an hour.

Pictures sent in from an eyewitness through the ReportIt function of the WPRI.com smart phone app , showed the vehicle engulfed in flames.

Troopers said once the fire was put out, the Dept. of Environmental Management was called in because of concerns about leaking carpet cleaning fluid.

No one was hurt and the scene was cleared around 2:45 p.m.

Further adding to the traffic, road crews shut down the center two lanes of 195 East at Exit 4 (Taunton Ave./Veterans Memorial Parkway) around 1:45 p.m. to investigate a loose bridge plate.

The two traffic problems caused massive delays on the major roadways in and around downtown Providence. As of 3 p.m., the RIDOT JamCam showed traffic was backed up all the way to at least the 95 South School St. exit in Pawtucket and along Route 146 at least to North Providence.

UPDATE: By 4:30 p.m., due to the 195 delays, traffic on 95 North was still backed up from the 95-195 split area to Exit 14, Jefferson Boulevard. RIDOT's live traffic sensors also showed backups on 95 South stretching to Exit 30. The cascade effect continued tying up other arteries and routes throughout the Providence area.

Eyewitness News was not unscathed by the traffic mess. About half the staff was late for their afternoon shifts. One employee said it took them an hour to get from Providence to East Providence. Another said it took her two hours to travel from Foster to the station.

At 3:45 p.m., RIDOT's spokesman said crews were finishing up their inspection on Route 195. Updates on the project will be provided on RIDOT's Facebook page and through its Twitter account.