House passes RhodeWorks

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s RhodeWorks plan was passed by the House of Representatives, after a long session Wednesday night.
The vote was 52 to 21 in favor of the governor’s proposed truck toll plan, according to a press release from the R.I. General Assembly. Next, the bill will head to the Senate, for a vote expected to be taken today.
The governor has said that tolls would help raise money to repair deteriorating bridges and roads and would only be levied on large, commercial vehicles.
The release said RhodeWorks funds will be used to fix more than 150 structurally deficient bridges and make repairs to another 500 bridges in order to prevent them from becoming deficient, bringing 90 percent of the state’s bridges into structural sufficiency by 2024.
The plan, according to the press release, would create 6,000 new construction jobs.
“This responsible legislation addresses our infrastructure, which is the most significant factor impacting the business community and the future of economic development in our state. We have the worst bridges, roads and overpasses in America and this plan will fix hundreds of them before an emergency occurs,” House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, D- Cranston, said in a statement. “We have vastly improved the legislation since it was first introduced last spring, cutting the rate of borrowing in half and dramatically reducing the interest rate on the bonding, while inserting language to ensure that truck tolls will never be extended to other vehicles without voter approval. The passage of this bill is vital in ensuring a brighter future for our state.”
Since it was first introduced last year, the bill was significantly changed, in part to take advantage of hundreds of millions of federal highway funds garnered by the state’s congressional delegation. Those funds enabled the reduction of borrowing from $600 million to $300 million, reducing the state’s interest costs by 65 percent.

The plan would place 14 gantries around the state with an average toll of $3 each. It is capped at $20 per day for any truck crossing the state in one direction. The cap increases to $40 if a truck crosses the state in both directions the same day.
State officials say that approximately 60 percent of trucks paying tolls will be from out of state.
Rhode Island is the only state on the East Coast that does not charge any tolls on highways, except Connecticut, which is considering tolls for both trucks and passenger vehicles.

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