Politics & Government

Sakonnet Toll Collection Could Be Postponed Until April

House Democrats will vote an an article to the state budget sometime in the next week that could defer toll collection pending the results of a six-month study on alternative options to raising infrastructure supporting revenue.

 

With toll collection slated to begin on July 1, opponents of the Sakonnet River Bridge toll aren't giving up yet.

House Democrats are proposing an article to the state budget that would defer toll collection until April 2014 and establish a commission to study alternative revenue raising options.

Find out what's happening in Bristol-Warrenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The article would push off toll collection until April and form a 9-member commission that would meet for six months throughout the summer and fall to study alternative revenue-generating options that could support the four East Bay bridges. The commission would be composed of three representatives, three senators, the director of the state Department of Transportation, the director of the state Turnpike and Bridge Authority and the director of the state Department of Administration. It would have until Jan. 15 to present its findings.

Throughout the last session of the General Assembly East Bay legislators profered several bills that would have blocked tolling on the Sakonnet River Bridge. The latest, championed by Sen. Louis P. DiPalma D-Dist. 12 and Rep. John G. Edwards, proposed creating an infrastructure maintenance fund that would have been funded through an increase in bi-annual vehicle inspection costs, fees from motor vehicle insurance enforcement and increase in associated tax, net revenues from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, and annual contributions from the state Capital Plan. None of these bills made it out of the respective Finance Committees for a vote on the House or Senate floor.

Find out what's happening in Bristol-Warrenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Part of the problem with the bill that [Sen. Louis DiPalma D-Dist. 12] and I put in was that is was Herculean and there was not enough time to really study it and get a full vetting," said Rep. John G. Edwards D-Dist. 70. "This will allow plenty of time to go through and come up with a viable alternative to tolls for the the four bridge system."

The RITBA is poised to begin toll collection within the next two weeks and David Darlington, executive director, said if tolls don't go in on the Sakonnet River Bridge this year, tolls on the Newport Pell Bridge would likely rise. 

"From what I see, I don't think this is a good move for people who have to pay a toll, particularly at the Pell Bridge," said Darlington. "I don't think it's a good move for infrastructure either because we have already gone through a very lengthy process to get here."

In 2012 the RITBA approved a rate hike on the Newport Pell Bridge that it has since deferred in anticipation of collection beginning on the Sakonnet River Bridge this summer. Should the Sakonnet River Bridge toll collection be pushed out, Darlington said that rate hike would likely be instituted to  - increasing rates to $5 per trip for out-of-state travelers and up to $1 for in-state drivers.

The RITBA already spent $2 million to $3 million on purchasing and installing the toll gantry system that will be used on Route 24 in Portsmouth to collect tolls, according to Darlington.

From Darlington's point of view, the authority has already missed out on a year of increased revenue after it deferred rate increases on the Pell Bridge. Times that by two for another year while the General Assembly continues to study the issue and Darlington said that between costs incurred and lost revenue, the authority would be out $12 million.

"This simply means revenue gets delayed," said Darlington about the proposed budget article. "It just takes revenue and doesn't do anything about the expenses already incurred. That is a problem for us." 

Darlington said in an interview on Tuesday evening that he was still waiting to be briefed by the General Assembly on what this article would mean for the RITBA.

"The TBA basically is a ministerial role," said Darlington. "The General Assembly and the governor, through the legislative process, get to decide what these things look like and we will figure out whatever the General Assembly puts before us. Legislators have a broader view for infrastructure in the entire state and I assume something broader is what they are attempting to achieve through this."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here