Governor proposing tolls for large commercial vehicles

(Updated 4:07 p.m.) PROVIDENCE — Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is proposing to introduce highway tolls for large commercial vehicles to finance repairs and improvements to the state’s bridges and transportation system.
Under a 10-year plan, the state will issue a $700 million revenue bond, to be repaid by electronic fees assessed to heavy commercial vehicles traveling on Interstates 95, 195 and 295, as well as on Routes 146, 6 and 10.
Legislative leaders, including House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed were expected to support the initiative in a joint press conference this morning with Raimondo.
The fees would be applied to commercial vehicles in Classes 6 and higher, and would not apply to passenger vehicles, motorcycles, SUVs, light trucks or smaller commercial vehicles, according to state Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, speaking at a press briefing. He said federal authorities would not be required to approve the new system.
Toll booth structures would not be required, he said. Instead, the state would construct 17 to 20 overhead structures that would automatically collect the fee from the commercial vehicles passing underneath. The technology involves a transponder, much like the EZ Pass, he said.
State legislation to authorize the tolls and the spending program, called RhodeWorks, is expected to be introduced this session. If approved, the overhead gantries would be installed as soon as next summer, Alviti said, and the tolls would begin to be collected that fiscal year.
The funds would be directed as follows: $300 million from the bond issue would go to accelerating scheduled bridge repairs statewide, while $400 million would support bridge repairs on Routes 6 and 10.
Improvements will enhance the state’s economic competitiveness, he said, because the transportation system is vital to business interests.
“We need to move boldly and swiftly to spark an economic comeback here in Rhode Island,” he said. “Our infrastructure is intertwined with economic development.”
Twenty percent of Rhode Island’s bridges are structurally deficient, he said. If the new funding source is authorized, the program would reduce that to 10 percent by 2024.
The reasoning behind applying a fee, or toll, to the heavy commercial trucks is because these are the vehicles responsible for most, if not all, of the damages to roads and bridges, he said.
The amount of the fee, per tolling location, has not been determined, he said. But Alviti said the state plans to position its tolls midway in a range of other states, including Massachusetts and New York, which already collect tolls on heavy commercial vehicles.
In Massachusetts, trucks crossing the length of the state on the Massachusetts Turnpike pay $22. In New York, trucks pay $90 to cross the state on Interstate 90, according to RIDOT statistics.
The president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association issued a statement regarding Raimondo’s plan to toll commercial trucking in Rhode Island.

“We were not built into this process and it is clear the administration has not considered the impact this will have on both the trucking industry and the price of consumer goods in Rhode Island,” Christopher Maxwell, president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association, said in a statement. “We all believe Rhode Island’s roads and bridges need to be improved and we want to be part of the solution, but to unfairly target one industry is simply not an equitable plan.”

According to a news release from the trucking association, the trucking industry “already funds a disproportionately high percentage of road improvements through both an apportioned fuel tax and registration fee for every linear foot of travel in the state. The current proposal only serves to double-tax the trucking industry.”

“The Rhode Island Trucking Association understands the state’s funding predicament with regard to infrastructure maintenance and repairs,” Maxwell said. “This organization is willing to pay its fair share to assist the governor, but tolling is not the answer.”

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