Even though truck tolls are the law, it could be years before the state starts collecting revenue, if it gets to that point at all. The state estimate is for toll gantries to be operational in about …
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Even though truck tolls are the law, it could be years before the state starts collecting revenue, if it gets to that point at all. The state estimate is for toll gantries to be operational in about 18 months.
Chris Maxwell, president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association, says this is just the beginning of what could be a long legal battle. On Thursday, before Senate passage of RhodeWorks legislation and its signing by Gov. Gina Raimondo, Maxwell said tolls for 18-wheeler trucks – Class 8 vehicles – faces a “gauntlet of regulatory and legal challenges…the real work begins; we won’t give up on this fight.”
The truckers favor increasing the diesel tax as a component of funding the roadwork, with other revenues coming in reduced state spending.
But while the trucking association is looking to put the brakes on tolls, as Rhode Island could set a national precedent, the state Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is stepping on the accelerator to repair 150 of the state’s most deficient bridges.
In a release Friday, RIDOT said it issued four requests for proposals seeking qualified firms to assist the department in establishing tolling systems “to provide a predictable, reliable revenue stream for improving Rhode Island’s crumbling infrastructure.”
The legislation approves borrowing $300 million based on future federal grants and raising another $200 million for a five-year “surge” in road and bridge work projected to create 6,000 jobs.
The requests from RIDOT also seek qualified firms to assist the department in not only repairing the deficient Route 6-10 interchange, “but developing a re-imagined transportation corridor with an integrated transit component.” RIDOT started advertising its requests on Friday. The selection process would start in about a month, with work commencing in the spring.
Meanwhile, at least one state representative, one of only 10 House Democrats to vote against the legislation, is looking to rebuild a few bridges. All 11 House Republicans voted against the legislation. Warwick Democrat Rep. Joseph Solomon Jr., who found he had been removed from the Judiciary Committee following his “no” vote, said, “I have no problems voting the way I did. People didn’t want me to vote for it. In the end I always listen to constituents.” He said he received 100 emails and 25 calls in opposition to truck tolls.
Solomon stressed the importance of rebuilding the state’s roads and bridges, but he feels there are other means of paying of it. He favors reducing state expenditures and the legalization of marijuana, which he believes will become law eventually. He estimates taxes on marijuana could generate between $20 million and $50 million.
As for being yanked from the Judiciary Committee, Solomon said, “It is unfortunate there are repercussions for the way you vote, but it won’t deter me from voting the way my constituents want.”
Solomon pointed out that because of House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s delay of the bill last June, the state has a “significantly better bill” that reduces borrowing and provides protections that tolls won’t be extended to cars without voter approval.
“My colleagues have done a great job. I believe the voters will re-elect them…this is one issue,” he said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on future legislation.”
As explained by RIDOT, a toll-facility consultant would perform site evaluation work, permitting, and develop the specifications for the tolling gantries and tolling systems. This company also will aid in the preparation of another request for proposals seeking a firm to design, build, operate and maintain the gantries and associated tolling systems.
The state projects the tolls will generate $45 million annually, an assumption questioned by the Rhode Island Trucking Association. The association contends that at 6,000 Class 8 trucks daily, the state estimate is more than double the actual traffic of 2,740. In addition, with diversion and through-truck traffic using Massachusetts and Connecticut roads, local truckers will bear the brunt and toll revenues will drop to under $10 million.
The proposed 14 toll gantries that will be erected over bridges will cost $38 million and about $5 million annually to operate. The gantries won’t slow traffic, as like an easy-pass system, they will be equipped to read truck transporters and photo-identify trucks.
RIDOT also disclosed it is soliciting for proposals for “task order contracts.” The approach is designed to get future road and bridge projects ready for construction faster than before.
Currently, RIDOT issues requests for proposals for engineering services as projects move through the development pipeline. Each time a new project is ready for design, the process must begin again.
According to RIDOT, task order contracts utilize a two-step process in which the majority of work and time involved in procuring engineering services is done up front. In the first step, RIDOT will issue a request for proposals for qualified engineering firms, creating a pool of companies that will be eligible to compete for future road and bridge work. As RIDOT’s project managers have projects ready for design work, they will employ the second step of the process – still requiring a competitive request for proposals process – before assigning the work. With the firms pre-selected, this second phase will be much faster, shortening the time to get a firm working on a project from a couple of months to a couple of weeks.
The need to address the state’s roads and bridges isn’t being questioned by truckers or by those legislators who voted against the RhodeWorks legislation. It’s the method of funding improvements.
On the matter of truck tolls, Maxwell said: “RhodeWorks is wrong for trucking and wrong for business and will have a negative consequence long term on the fabric of our state as we know it.”
As for political fallout, Rep. Joseph McNamara, a member of the House leadership and chair of the state Democratic Party, was asked whether Solomon was being punished for his vote. McNamara said it’s not unusual that committee appointments change in the course of a session.
Two other Democratic legislators who voted against RhodeWorks, Reps. Ray Hull and Robert Phillips, also lost committee seats.
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TruePatriot
Let me preface my remarks by saying that I am in complete consensus, as I believe are most Rhode Islanders, that we need an equitable financing model to pay for maintaining our highway infrastructure. Let me add that I also have an understanding that our workforce, in particular blue collar labor, need work and that public sector jobs projects are legitimate form of employment although not the primary or most sustainable source of long term employment, that remains the private sector and small businesses in particular. One problem I have with this Governor's approach to remedying our fiscal ills is the divisive nature of it. The truck toll plan pits one segment of labor against another (tradesmen/construction vs truck drivers and warehousemen) and targets one segment (class 8 vehicles) of one industry (trucking) against others.
Everyone uses our highways and everyone should pay their fair share not one segment of one industry. Imagine if you proposed a new fee for all attorneys in the state but then said it will only apply to defense attorneys! The many state legislators who are defense attorneys would cry foul and the other attorneys would know that it was just a matter of time before they too would incur this fee. Of course this attorney fee would never happen because the legislature is weighted in favor of that profession but this example highlights the inequity of this truck toll plan.
The notion that this approach will target those "free-loading" out of state truckers who use our highways and bridges without paying anything for them is mis-guided as the diesel tax is based on miles driven in the state. A truck does not have to physically buy their diesel in Rhode Island for them to be responsible to pay Rhode Island the diesel fuel tax. It is based on the number of miles they drive in the state, it is called apportionment. If these trucks by-pass our state and go around us, you are correct that they will not put wear and tear on our roads but they also will not be paying us any diesel fuel tax. Diversion will be a loss to our apportionment of the IFTA tax.
Finding other approaches other than truck tolls would produce $70 million savings (projected, could be much higher) of purchasing and erecting the toll gantries not to mention the huge traffic delays and lost productivity during the gantry construction phase. We will also save the interest costs of floating bonds for this tolling project if we use other revenue streams.
Trucks and 18-wheeler trucks especially are not the cause of our poor road and bridge infrastructure despite what the DOT Director would have you believe. Certainly smaller dump trucks, which would not pay any tolls under this proposal, carry payloads much heavier than 18-wheeler tractor trailers (100,000+ lbs vs 45,000 lbs maximum legal weight for 18 wheelers) and their weight is more concentrated on less axles. These construction vehicles put more stress on our bridges than tractor trailers yet this current proposal does not toll them. The real culprit for our current condition is poor maintenance and failure to remove winter salt and sand from bridges and roadways in a timely manner (if at all). The rebar and cement of our bridges were corroded over many years of neglect not due to truck use.
It is unfortunate that this legislation was fast-tracked through the legislative process so you and your colleagues could have had the necessary time to hear the legitimate concerns of those most unfairly impacted by this tolling approach. Despite what the Governor and Speaker said, the review process was not sufficient and having the Speaker and the DOT Director refer to the legitimate business concerns of Rhode Islanders as "scare tactics" did not serve the public or add to the democratic dialog of our legislative process.
As a life long Rhode Islander I am concerned that the adverse economic impact of this new tolling plan will undermine our state's economy for years to come and ultimately be far worse than the negative impact of the 38 Studios debacle.
Friday, February 19, 2016 Report this