Why Rhode Island may be able to put tolls on I-95 after all
June 8th, 2011 at 10:21 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
When Tim White interviewed U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last month, President Obama’s transit chief appeared to pour cold water on the Chafee administration’s proposal to put new tolls on I-95 to fund repairs.
“If a state or a governor or DOT wants to add capacity or two lanes on each side, we think that’s a good use of tolls and we have supported that kind of approach,” LaHood told Tim.
But Chafee’s transportation director, Mike Lewis, still sounded optimistic about the potential for tolls on “Newsmakers” last week, because he said adding capacity doesn’t necessarily require adding lanes – you could also change the engineering of on- and off-ramps, for example, on the I-95 bridge next to Providence Place.
Today Stateline’s Daniel Vock followed up on our stories with a closer look at the issue. After declaring that I-95 “is falling apart” in Rhode Island, Vock describes a way the state could get around the general ban on tolling roads paid for with federal tax dollars:
In 1998, Congress created a pilot program under which up to three states can start collecting tolls on existing interstates to fund improvements on those roads. So far, though, no states have used it.
Virginia and Missouri both have federal permission to move ahead with the idea, but neither has the tolls up and running. …
Pennsylvania also applied for the exception, in order to put tolls on Interstate 80 across the northern stretch of the state. The federal government rejected that plan, largely because it would have diverted some of the toll revenue from the highway to support public transit in Philadelphia. …
Rhode Island hopes to qualify for the spot left open when Pennsylvania’s application failed. Lewis, the transportation director, says Rhode Island officials learned from Pennsylvania’s experience. Under the plan they are now developing, tolls collected on I-95 would go only toward improvements to the interstate itself.
Even if everything went the way Lewis wants, Vick reports, the toll booths wouldn’t open for at least another two years. Interesting nonetheless. And thank you to the Nesi’s Notes reader who sent the article along.
(photo: RITBA)
Tags: chafee administration, highways, I-95, mike lewis, obama administration, ray lahood, RIDOT, roads, transit, transportation
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
Sounds like another way for the state to rip off its citizens. If the useless DOT actually did its work and maintained the roadways then there would be no issue at all. The 95 bridge in Pawtucket is a perfect example.
And can you imagine how BAD the traffic will become with the addition of toll booths? Right now a 15 minute commute takes twice that long, due to the INSANELY BAD design of most of our freeways and the general lack of driving skill exemplified by the majority of RHODE ISLAND drivers. Yes that’s you! – like PAY ATTENTION, the ROAD IS NOT YOURS ALONE, there are OTHER PEOPLE TRYING TO GET SOMEWHERE SO PLEASE MOVE YOUR ARROGANT BACKSIDE, do any of you KNOW HOW to YIELD the RIGHT OF WAY – the list is endless and this idea is a no starter from the outset.
MAYBE THE GOVERNOR AND THE DOT NEED TO DO THEIR JOB. RHODE ISLAND IS THE MOST CORRUPT STATE. QUESTION: HOW MANY DOT WORKERS DOES IT NEED TAKE TO FIX THE ROADS. I HAVE THE ANSWER 1 TO WORK 5 TO SUPERVISE AND TAKE NAPS WHAT A RACKET . I AM SICK OF IT
Regardless even if everybody does their job like the are suppose to I would much rather pay a toll then to go over another pothole, “speed bump” or sewer drain while driving 55 MPH. Seriously, I’ve been through 3 flats and struts in the past year!
I vote toll it and give me a smooth road to drive on
Anybody who is stupid enough to believe the toll money will go to fixing the road is a sucker to whom we should not give an even break. That money will go into the general fund to finance more useless state employee union lazy butt jobs or whatever other fools our idiot governor can hand out money to so he can get reelected. And the roads will be just as crappy as they are now. We have to get that moron out of office.
If there is a toll booth on an interstate the revenue gained may only be used on federal roadways (i.e I-95). I just drove down the atlantic sea-board and any state with a toll booth (New Jersey, Delaware,ect) had the best roads I have ever driven on and were working on expanding 95.
Maryland for example has no tolls other than at bridges and tunnels and their roads are broken. Why do the states with the tolls have smooth freshly paved roads and ones who do not look like Rhode-Island’s? From my experience tolls work.
More money will not fix the issue. The only change will be your kids paying a toll to drive on the same broken road someday.
[...] Ready to pay a toll on I-95 in Rhode Island? A legal loophole may allow the state to [...]
I can’t believe people are still pushing this idea. I like user fees in theory, but the people trying to toll 95 seem to have no idea what they are or how they work. Even if the Feds allowed this “we’ll add capacity by repainting the lines” plan (at least that’s what it sounds like), they would still expect you to
A) put the toll booths near the “improvement,” not the CT border like they always suggest
B) use the collected money on the improvement itself and
C) not reduce the state’s commitment to highway maintenance.
A changes the entire character of the plan (and makes it less politically attractive), and B & C make it useless as either revenue generator or a budget fix. So why would we bother?
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