Even though Rhode Island听Gov. Gina Raimondo signed RhodeWorks into law on Feb. 11, her trucks-only tolling plan still needs to be approved by the Federal Highway Administration before it can roll smoothly toward a projected opening of the 14 tolling gantries in 18 to 24 months.
鈥淔HWA requested detailed information through a series of questions on the tolling aspects [of RhodeWorks],鈥 FHWA spokeswoman Nancy Singer wrote in an e-mail. 鈥淲e understand that RIDOT has been gathering the responses to our questions. We still await a response.鈥
RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin said officials from his agency and FHWA are set to meet Feb. 17.
鈥淭here are a number of steps that would have been premature to take before the governor signed the bill,鈥 St. Martin said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e putting out bids for additional consultants to help us with environmental permitting and traffic evaluation. We had hoped this would pass last June [not long after Raimondo first proposed RhodeWorks]. We expect to reach an agreement [with the FHWA] in the spring, if not sooner.鈥
Rhode Island Trucking Association CEO Chris Maxwell, the most vocal opponent of RhodeWorks, said that Raimondo鈥檚 administration shouldn鈥檛 be so confident.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this thing is signed, sealed and delivered,鈥 Maxwell said. 鈥淲e question how the funding will be used. Are they able to move money around as they see fit from facility to facility? They鈥檙e exercising a very narrow loophole to toll bridges that are 30-yard overpasses. They鈥檙e not putting the gantries on the most efficient bridges. They鈥檙e putting them on the most-cash rich bridges. We don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 allowable. So we think a lot of change could come to RhodeWorks once FHWA gets the big picture.鈥
If St. Martin, rather than Maxwell, proves correct, there are still a number of environmental reviews and traffic analyses that must be completed. RIDOT hopes to solicit bids by early fall from companies to design, build, maintain and operate the gantries in a public-private partnership with the agency.
Even if all that comes to pass, it's expected that the Rhode Island Trucking Association, with the likely support of American Trucking Associations, will sue to stop RhodeWorks.
"Once it comes to its final form, only at that point can we assess the likely damage, but I don鈥檛 expect a suit to be filed until the gantries are up and tolls are being collected,鈥 Maxwell said.
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