NEW: Battle Over Tolls: Calls to Replace Turnpike Authority
Thursday, September 15, 2011
A little toll increase can go a long way. State Rep. Raymond Gallison is requesting that Governor Chafee replace the entire staff and Board of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority in response to the group’s continued calls for new and higher toll rates on the Pell Bridge and the Mount Hope Bridge.
Gallison, who has sponsored legislation to ban tolls on the Mount Hope Bridge in the past, believes that any new tolls would be detrimental to the tourism industry and would discourage companies from doing out of state business in Rhode Island. The Authority has been considering reinstating tolls of up to $3 per axle on the Mount Hope Bridge.
“For the past several years all we have heard from the Turnpike and Bridge Authority is that they need to increase tolls on the Pell Bridge and put back the tolls on the Mount Hope,” wrote Gallison.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“They expend funds to conduct study after study when they already have a preconceived outcome, which is to increase the tolls and toll the Mount Hope Bridge. We are never presented with any new ideas.”
David Darlington, the Chairman of the Turnpike and Bridge Authority, defended the proposed toll increases on pragmatic grounds, contending that there was no other obvious source of funds for the necessary repairs. Darlington also emphasized the long-term cost-saving benefits of maintaining the bridges properly—citing the $280 million it will cost to replace the neglected Scituate Bridge.
Both the Mount Hope Bridge and the Pell Bridge are older than the Scituate one, and their anticipated repairs over the next 10 years are projected to cost roughly $240 million—significantly less than the cost of the Scituate’s full-scale replacement.
“If we keep up on repairs there’s no reason why they cant serve the public for another 100 years,” said Darlington.
The chairman also stressed that the Turnpike and Bridge Authority is “by comparison a relatively frugal organization,” pointing out that the employees do not participate in the state’s pension program.
Darlington also wanted to reassure taxpayers that any adjustment would not go into effect until mid- to late next year, and that until then he was committed to maintaining an “open dialogue.”
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