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« Carbon monoxide deaths spur safety effort by city | Today | Bill seeks uniform penalty for students who abuse alcohol » January 9, 2008Bill filed to prohibit restoring tolls at Mt. Hope BridgeBRISTOL -- As the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority holds a series of public hearings on closing a $233 million deficit projected within 20 years, state Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr. has filed a bill that would prohibit the restoration of tolls at the Mount Hope Bridge. A consultant hired by the authority has proposed bringing tolls back to the bridge -- 10 years after they were eliminated -- as one way to help close the deficit. The suggested fee is $1. “At this time, when gas prices are increasing to record levels, Rhode Island’s motoring public can’t support any other increases in the cost of daily transportation,” Gallison, D-Bristol,Portsmouth, said in a statement. “The Turnpike and Bridge Authority needs to be doing its utmost to maintain the bridges while living within its means. Residents should not be facing another tax when they’ve already been paying what we were told was plenty to provide for proper maintenance of the bridges.” The two bridges face major maintenance and repair needs, whose costs are expected to far surpass toll revenues, the authority’s primary source of revenue. Minimum costs are projected at nearly $200 million for the Pell Bridge connecting Jamestown and Newport over the next six years and close to $15 million for the Mount Hope Bridge between Bristol and Portsmouth over the next four years. A report by PB Consult Inc. suggests the following ways to generate additional revenue: raising the basic cash toll to $3 from $2 for the Pell Bridge, and hiking a variety of other toll fees, to bring in an additional $119 million to $149 million; restoring a toll at the Mount Hope Bridge to generate an additional $91 million; eliminating token discounts to raise $17 million; and, increasing tolls during the summer to reap an extra $21 million. But Gallison says that bringing back tolls to the Mount Hope Bridge would cause traffic backups and safety hazards on the bridge. He and other lawmakers sent a letter to the authority opposing the move. Read Gallison's proposed legislation. -- Journal staff writer Richard Salit Those who signed it were Rep. Jan P. Malik, D-Warren, Barrington, Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske, D-Bristol, Warren, Sen. Walter S. Felag, D- Warren, Bristol, Tiverton, Sen. Charles J. Levesque, D-Portsmouth, Bristol, Sen. June N. Gibbs, R-Middletown, Newport, Little Compton, Tiverton, and Sen. David E. Bates, R-Barrington, Bristol. Gallison suggests that instead of reestablishing tolls at the Mount Hope Bridge that the authority raise the toll for out-of-state vehicles. He said that higher tolls would make Rhode Island less affordable and hurt workers in the East Bay, including those at Raytheon, in Portsmouth. Former Gov. Lincoln Almond asked the authority in 1998 to eliminate the 30-cent toll when it was determined that the costs of collecting it was on the verge of outweigh the amount of revenue it generated. The authority, which had been considering a consultant’s proposal to hike the toll to $1, voted instead to abolish it. The authority has held the first in a series of public hearings on ways to address its deficit. The location of the meeting slated for Bristol at 7 p.m. Monday has been changed to Mount Hope High School (from Town Hall) to accommodate a potentially larger audience. The other hearings, which all start at 7 p.m., are scheduled for tomorrow night at Portsmouth Town Hall, Jan. 15 at Middletown Town Hall, Jan. 22 at North Kingstown Free Library, and Jan. 23 at Rhode Island College, Dennis Roberts Hall Alumni Lounge, Providence. Posted by Mike McKinney CommentsJB | January 9, 2008 4:02 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
Another classic Rhode Island political move. I'm so sorry the deficit is an inconvenience to you pols, who have CONTRIBUTED to this state's demise. So let's target the one industry that is actually bringing anything to this state, tourism!I bet you pols sit and wonder why in the world citizens feel disenfranchised... Oh and about separation of powers... I bet you are going to get right on that though, too, aren't you?