diff --git a/web3/providers/ipc.py b/web3/providers/ipc.py
index 57a2998a..0b75a9fd 100644
--- a/web3/providers/ipc.py
+++ b/web3/providers/ipc.py
@@ -157,6 +157,11 @@ def get_default_ipc_path() -> str:  # type: ignore
 
 # type ignored b/c missing return statement is by design here
 def get_dev_ipc_path() -> str:  # type: ignore
+    # Check if WEB3_PROVIDER_URI is set and return it if so
+    env_uri = os.environ.get('WEB3_PROVIDER_URI')
+    if env_uri:
+        return env_uri
+        
     if sys.platform == 'darwin':
         tmpdir = os.environ.get('TMPDIR', '')
         ipc_path = os.path.expanduser(os.path.join(
@@ -269,4 +274,4 @@ def has_valid_json_rpc_ending(raw_response: bytes) -> bool:
         if stripped_raw_response.endswith(valid_ending):
             return True
     else:
-        return False
+        return False
\ No newline at end of file