R.I. Trucking Association files request for more details about RhodeWorks toll plan

PROVIDENCE – A public records request has been filed with the director of the R.I. Department of Transportation by the Rhode Island Trucking Association president because he wants more details about the governor’s RhodeWorks toll plan.

“From the very beginning of this process we have continually called on the administration to release more information related to their tolling plan. Unfortunately, those repeated requests have been ignored and it has forced us to file a public records request so that our members and all Rhode Island businesses can truly understand the impact of RhodeWorks,” Christopher Maxwell, president of the 500-member Rhode Island Trucking Association, said in a press release.
The release said that the association wants to know where the tolls will be located.
“Stating that the federal highway administration has to approve toll locations so they cannot be disclosed yet is not a plausible excuse for withholding this information. It is clear the administration knows where they intend to place the tolling gantries, otherwise how could they attempt to project revenue to support the bond payment. The governor is asking members of the General Assembly to make a $1 billion decision yet they don’t even know how many tolling locations will be located in their districts,” he said.

In addition for specific toll locations, the public records request asks for the entire level 2 traffic collection report completed by CDM Smith and RIDOT, as well as the data used in the study methodology. It also asks for all written correspondence between RIDOT and the governor’s office regarding toll and bridge locations for the RhodeWorks program, and all correspondence between RIDOT and the Federal Highway Administration related to the federal tolling exemption.

“We do not want to have a combative relationship with the governor and we have put fiscal solutions on the table to address the condition of Rhode Island’s roads and bridges. Let’s get this information into the public domain so this entire process is more transparent and lawmakers will have a greater understanding of what they are voting on,” Maxwell said.

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Last month, a state-ordered economic-impact report on RhodeWorks estimated the direct impact from tolls to Rhode Island trucking companies of $5 million a year, an amount expected to be passed on to consumers. A total of $60 million is expected to be collected annually, with at least half paid by out-of-state truckers, based on truck data collected by R.I. State Police at highway weigh stations and at traffic stops.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo introduced the RhodeWorks plan in May; it would provide $700 million for state bridge and road projects, financed by electronic fees paid by heavy commercial trucks traveling on interstate roads. She has said RhodeWorks is a “smart approach” to fixing the state’s infrastructure.

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