These include 3,300 lane miles of state roads and highways, 1,162 bridges, 777 traffic signals, and six rail stations.

Through the 1989 Pilgrim Partnership Agreement RIDOT financed construction of the Boston-bound MBTA commuter rail service into Providence and beyond (see Providence/Stoughton Line).

Additionally, the Providence Viaduct on Interstate 95 and the Route 10-Route 6 junction have structural deficiencies and require significant rehabilitation.

The State Board of Public Roads was created in 1902 to oversee construction, improvement, and maintenance of state-owned roadways.

As part of the larger government restructuring into a departmental system in 1935, the Department of Public Works was created under PL 1935, chapter 2188.