Chris Maxwell of the RI Trucking Association joined GoLocal LIVE to discuss the impact of the truck tolls which are now set to begin on June 11 at two locations along I-95 in southern Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced on Tuesday.
Maxwell anticipates that the American Truckers Association will begin litigation now that the truck tolls are going online. Maxwell said that the tolling will put Rhode Island at a disadvantage from a business standpoint and the implications will be significant. He puts the responsibility for the "failed strategy" of tolling at the feet of Governor Gina Raimondo.
He says that the Raimondo brand is so damaged now that if she tried to propose a policy like this today, rather than in 2015, the General Assembly would "laugh her out of the building."
“Revenue will be collected from tractor-trailers only. Studies show those vehicles cause the greatest amount of damage to roadways. Other vehicles, including passenger cars, will not be tolled. The legislation authorizing the tolling program expressly prohibits tolling cars,” said the RIDOT in their press release.
The remaining tolling locations will open over the next 18 months.
Toll Locations & Cost
The tolls will be collected at two locations between Hopkinton and Exeter.
Toll Location one is approximately one mile north of Exit 2 (Hopkinton/Hope Valley) for the Wood River Valley Bridge on the Richmond/Hopkinton line.
Toll Location two is approximately three miles south of Exit 5 (Route 102) for the Tefft Hill Trail Bridge and Baker Pines Bridge near the Exeter/Richmond line.
The toll for Location one will be $3.25. The toll for Location two will be $3.50.
For tractor-trailers equipped with transponders such as E-ZPass, tolls will be limited to once per day, per direction. For tractor-trailers without a transponder, video detection systems will be used to generate an invoice for the registered owner of the vehicle.
The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority will collect the tolls and generate the invoices where necessary.
The revenue collected will be dedicated to funding the reconstruction of the bridges at those two sites.
Related Slideshow: GoLocal: Benchmark Poll, October 2017
When it comes to voting, do you consider yourself to be affiliated with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, Moderate, or Unaffiliated with a major party?
Next year, in November of 2018, there will be a statewide general election for Governor and many other state offices. How likely is it that you will vote in this election?
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Recently, a proposal has been made to permit the issuance of $81 million in bonds by the State to build a new stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox. If there was an election today on this issue, would you vote to approve or reject issuing $81 million in financing supported moral obligation bonds to build the stadium?
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