The old Sakonnet River Bridge is being replaced. Could tolls be on the way too?
STATE HOUSE – Seeking to close a more than $350 million budget gap, Governor Donald C. Carcieri yesterday unveiled plans to install tolls on the new Sakonnet Bridge as part of his FY 2011 budget.
The sure to be controversial plan would mimic the toll structure on the Pell Bridge, charging motorists $4 each way or 83 cents for Rhode Island residents with an EZ Pass account. Ownership of the bridge would also be transferred to the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA), which currently owns and operates the Pell and Mount Hope Bridges.
Under the plan, RITBA would buy the the yet-to-be-completed span for $164 million, paid for through a revenue sharing agreement in which 70 percent of toll collections would be directed to the state over an estimated 20-year period.
But the toll is still a ways off. Commuters wouldn’t see the proposal implemented until 2012 at the earliest, when the new bridge is expected to be complete, and final approval rests with the Federal Highway Administration.
Legislation would also have to be approved in the General Assembly to permit the state DOT, which currently is responsible for the bridge, and RITBA to pursue a formal sale agreement.
Should the plan be approved, revenue from the tolls would be earmarked for much-needed repairs on the state’s 164 bridges, which have been ranked among the worst in the nation.
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Newport, RI
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Counting down the days until November 2, 2010….sayonara Carcieri
A toll would be good for the bridge but why not charge double in one direction only and do the same on the Newport Bridge, this saves on the number of workers and speeds up travel. I would suggest tolls when leaving the island so the Jamestown tolls could be adapted easier.
The last group we want in charge of maintaining the new bridge is RIDOT or we will be building a new one again in 25 years or so.
Let me see, the state has 164 bridges and we on Aquidneck Island have to pay tolls on the only Toll Bridges in the State? Why not put tolls on the other 162 bridges. Why can’t we all share in the pain? How about I-95 at the state line, massachuest and connecticut, I am sure people from Rhode Island have paid tolls on the Mass Pike and Tunnels.
Oh Paige, your ignorance is showing. Possibly if we didn’t have the gangsters we do in the legislature, with the unions and the thugs, this state wouldn’t be in the dumpster. The same old excuse you use, pushing the blame on the governor isn’t working. Wise up! The next election cycle is coming and the people of RI are waking up!
I can’t believe that a republican gov. would even suggest something like this! Lots of people will not be coming to the island once they throw up these vast tolls. Businesses will suffer everywhere because folks from Portsmouth will not go to Tiverton and other places as much.
Thanks…..
I guess this puts to rest any idea of the other party being any better. No one is walking up……they are all still sleeping……..