Raimondo modifies truck toll bill

GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO has modified the transportation toll bill, after the initial legislation was criticized by businesses and truck association officials. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO has modified the transportation toll bill, after the initial legislation was criticized by businesses and truck association officials. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – A revised truck toll bill that exempts all but tractor-trailers from a system of proposed statewide highway tolls will be discussed Thursday at the state Senate Finance Committee.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo modified the transportation toll bill Tuesday, after the initial legislation was criticized by businesses and truck association officials.
The RhodeWorks proposal would provide $700 million for state bridge and transportation repairs, financed by electronic fees paid by heavy commercial trucks traveling on Interstate 95, 195 and 295, as well as on Routes 146, 6 and 10.
Cars, motorcycles, SUVs and other passenger vehicles would be exempted.
In addition to removing three- and four-axle single unit trucks from the proposed network of tolls, the governor’s proposed revision will limit trucks paying the electronic fees to once per location, per day, in each direction. The amount of the fee has not been determined, according to state officials.
In a statement Tuesday, Raimondo did not specifically address the proposed modifications, emphasizing the need to repair Rhode Island’s transportation network. “Since the announcement of the RhodeWorks proposal, we’ve heard from a number of businesses who agree that the current state of our transportation infrastructure is not adequate to meet modern transportation and safety needs,” she wrote. “Businesses have also told us that safe and reliable transportation infrastructure is critical to growing our economy and attracting more businesses to move here.”
According to a national inventory by the Federal Highway Administration, Rhode Island has 764 bridges that are longer than 20 feet. Of those, 23 percent are defined as “structurally deficient.”
The Senate committee is expected to discuss the revised RhodeWorks proposal at 2 p.m. Thursday.

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