R.I. trucks-only toll plan enacted following governor’s signature

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A fact sheet on the RhodeWorks program from the Rhode Island DOT. Click image to view larger.A fact sheet on the RhodeWorks program from the Rhode Island DOT. Click image to view larger.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has signed into law the controversial Class 8 trucks-only toll plan meant to help improve the state’s roads and bridges.

Both the state’s House of Representatives and Senate passed the bill this week.

Trucking groups have spoken out loudly against the plan. The Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) has warned lawmakers that truck drivers will avoid traveling through the state if the Class 8 truck tolls are enacted.

RITA President Chris Maxwell has said that the state has not been fiscally responsible when it comes to maintaining its infrastructure and is making up for budget shortfalls by unfairly targeting a single industry for all of the state’s worn roads and bridges.

With the bill signed into law, drivers of class 8 trucks will pay a maximum of $20 to travel through the state along Interstate 95 one-way. Each electronic toll gantry a trucker passes under would cost about $3. The maximum daily charge would be $40.