Tony Justice
Greg Myhre
Rhode Island To Add More Truck-Only Toll Locations Soon
BusinessInfrastructurePoliticsTrucking News Articles
Providence, Rhode Island – It will soon be more expensive for truckers operating through Rhode Island as the state's Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced it will begin collecting tolling fees at a new gantry in July.
The new gantry will be located at the Woonasquatucket River Bridge on Route 6, and will be the third one to go live as part of Rhode Island's truck-only tolling initiative knows as RhodeWorks.
The 10-year plan to spend nearly $5 billion repairing and upgrading Rhode Island's decaying infrastructure has been put primarily on the back's of truckers to pay for.
The RhodeWorks program continues to be strongly opposed by trucking stakeholders as "unconstitutional."
In March, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and three carriers against Rhode Island's RhodeWorks truck-only toll program, citing "a lack of jurisdiction."
ATA has since filed an appeal in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and contends the truck-only toll scheme is unconstitutional because it discriminates against interstate trucking companies and impedes the flow of interstate commerce.
Arguments are scheduled to be heard in the case in September of this year.
RIDOT spokeswoman Lisbeth Pettengill said at the time of the plan's announcement, "The rationale behind the RhodeWorks tolling program was to toll the vehicles that caused the damage that needs to be repaired."
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RIDOT said it expects to launch the fourth toll location at the Louisquisset Pike Bridge, which carries Route 146 over Route 116, on August 14.
Transportation Nation Network (TNN) has obtained a schedule of the next ten toll gantry locations and expected launch dates. You will find it below.
Locations and expected launch dates of the final two gantries as part of the RhodeWorks program have not been released.
The toll rates for the next 10 locations vary from $2 at the Woonasquatucket River Bridge to as high as $9.50 at the Washington Bridge that carries I-195 over the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence.
RIDOT reports that the first two locations have beaten their initial revenue projections.
In the first ten months of operation, the gantries have generated over $5.9 million through more than 1.8 million transactions.
TNN will continue to monitor this story and bring you any new developments.
WATCH more on this story below courtesy of WPRI/YouTube.
american trucking associationsbusinessRhode IslandRhodeWorkstollingtollstrucking
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