With their announcement last week of a plan to start tolling large commercial vehicles traveling through Rhode Island to pay for $700 million in bridge and highway repairs over the next 10 years, the state's elected leaders have shown they understand the gravity of the situation.
It is a bold move to be sure, just not bold enough.
According the R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, the program would cut in half the number of bridges deemed structurally deficient, leaving just as many not up to snuff.
There have been calls across the country to take advantage of current cheap fuel prices to add a tax to fund much needed infrastructure repairs. The scale of Rhode Island's road and bridge problems, from bad bridges to potholed city streets, requires far more than the proposed truck toll program could underwrite.
The state should still consider a dedicated gas tax to help bring Rhode Island out of the basement on so many road and bridge quality lists.
Of course, no tax should be levied without serious consideration. But when it comes to a safe and competitive infrastructure, real money must be invested. And calls to cut spending to fund the repairs reveal only a lack of appreciation for the scope of the issue.
Lastly, one positive byproduct of taking on the state's infrastructure needs would be a shot in the arm for the construction industry, which is nearly one-third below peak employment, reached right before the recession devastated the building trades. In a state that needs jobs desperately, this tax-and-spend concept would yield double benefits. •
Tolls will not be an efficient way to fix RI’s transportation infrastructure. Installing gantries will be very expensive and produce no new revenue. The cost of fuel has dropped by over a dollar a gallon. A 10 cent increase in the state fuel tax will produce the necessary funds to repair our bridges and roads. A small tax on a very large group of users is the best way to raise the necessary funds. The number of gallons sold each day is enormous. All of this new revenue should be used to quickly solve this infrastructure problem.