In-state toll impact limited

The state-ordered economic-impact report on RhodeWorks released earlier this month estimates direct impact from tolls to Rhode Island trucking companies of just $5 million a year, an amount expected to be passed on to consumers.

The assumption is that at least half of the $60 million collected annually from tolls will be paid by out-of-state truckers, based on truck data collected by R.I. State Police at highway weigh stations and at traffic stops.

Initially introduced in May by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, the RhodeWorks plan would provide $700 million for state bridge and road projects, financed by electronic fees paid by heavy commercial trucks traveling on interstate roads.

The legislation stalled in the General Assembly, and is now expected to be taken up next year.

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To bolster the information available about the program, the state commissioned a study, prepared by Regional Economic Models Inc., of Amherst, Mass.

The study assumes that 100 percent of the additional toll expenses paid by Rhode Island-based trucks driving locally, or making deliveries out-of-state, as well as the inbound trucks making Ocean State drops, are passed on to local businesses or government.

It also assumes local truckers receive a $13.5 million offset, in reduced state taxes.

Under those assumptions, Rhode Island will bear another $13 million in transferred costs, according to Jonathan Wormer, director of the state Department of Revenue’s Office of Management and Budget. That includes tolls paid by out-of-state truckers who stop in the Ocean State.

The cumulative toll amount, for a truck crossing the state, is estimated to cost $20 to $25, the amount needed to generate $60 million a year.

“A lot of the money is coming from out of state,” Wormer said, “Or trucks that aren’t even stopping in Rhode Island.”

Republican lawmakers remain skeptical. In a counterproposal to RhodeWorks, the Republican Policy Group contends that even more money could be raised within the existing state budget to repair the state’s bridges, and without borrowing $700 million.

Rep. Patricia L. Morgan, R-Coventry, says the state shouldn’t support any additional fees or taxes.

“They’re saying only $5 million will be passed on to consumers? I just don’t believe that,” Morgan said.

The report analyzed eight different scenarios, including options to add a gas or a diesel tax increase, or forgo some transit improvements.

All, despite the impact on the trucking industry, had a net benefit in terms of jobs and personal income, as a result of the transfer of work to the construction industry. •

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1 COMMENT

  1. Just allow fueling stations (truck and cars) to be built at the existing rest areas on I-295 in Lincoln and at the existing site on I-95 opposite Dawley Memorial State Park in Richmond, RI and reduce the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel to 20 cents per gallon. (Google these sites) Drivers buy their fuel based on convenience and price. Drivers that now pass through RI would stop and buy their fuel in RI because it would be convenient and RI would have the lowest price. The number of gallons of fuel sold in RI each year would more than triple and provide the funds to repair RI’s bridges and roads.