RhodeWorks: The time to act is now

Louis P. Dipalma
Posted 9/10/15

The United States Department of Transportation ranks Rhode Island last – 50th out of 50 states – in bridge quality. Everyone agrees that we have to fix the bridges across RI, approximately one in …

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RhodeWorks: The time to act is now

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The United States Department of Transportation ranks Rhode Island last – 50th out of 50 states – in bridge quality. Everyone agrees that we have to fix the bridges across RI, approximately one in every five (20 percent) of which are structurally deficient. This represents over 150 bridges which require immediate attention.

We have felt the consequences recently with closures or restrictions on the Pawtucket River, the Sakonnet River Bridge, the Portsmouth Escape Bridge, and the Cranston Park Avenue Bridge, to name a few. The time to act is now. The problems will get worse if they’re not addressed, and the longer we wait the more costly it becomes. The open question which remains is how best to address tackling this critically important challenge. It’s an issue of safety, transportation and economics.

We’ve taken steps in recent years to address funding challenges and to work towards getting our state’s transportation infrastructure house in order. With the 2015 fiscal year budget, we provided additional funding for the Rhode Island Highway Maintenance Account. Over a period of the next three years, all license and vehicle registration fees paid to RI Division of Motor Vehicles will be transferred into this account, significantly enhancing our Pay-As-You-Go approach. This and other changes are expected to yield an additional $50 million in infrastructure resources annually to the RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) by 2019. Over the course of ten years, it would result in excess of $500 million to RIDOT. While this is good, much more needs to be done in order to take on the enormity of our funding challenge.

I applaud Governor Raimondo and RIDOT, especially Director Peter Alviti and Deputy Director Peter Garino, for the bold initiative they’ve put forward to solve this pressing issue. The executive branch, working in collaboration with the Legislature, has heard, listened and acted. The current legislation (S0997 Sub A) includes many changes which resulted from the hearings conducted by both the Senate and House Committees on Finance.

Improvements included in the current Rhode Works legislation include a rebate/credit program from Rhode Island trucking companies, a reduction in the total amount of borrowing, a provision to prepay the bond early, a limit on the maximum daily toll per vehicle, removal of class 6 and 7 trucks from the proposal, and no impact on the state’s general fund.

Some have argued that we should do this work “pay-as-you-go” instead of through a bond. A Pay-As-You-Go approach is problematic because it would end up costing more, and would further exacerbate our future structural deficits.

The bottom line is that large commercial trucks are causing the majority of the vehicle-caused damage to our highways. The Government Accountability Office’s report: EXCESSIVE TRUCK WEIGHT: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Support, 16 July 1979, reports that a typical 80,000-pound tractor-trailer has the same impact on an interstate highway as at least 9,600 automobiles. Shouldn’t these vehicles pay their fair share? And, shouldn’t those out-of-state vehicles who are impacting our roads pay their fair share as well? This is especially true considering the fact that commercial trucks are paying user fees in almost every other northeastern state. We do collect our apportioned share from the International Fuel Tax Agreement, but that doesn’t go nearly far enough to address the impact of the associated vehicles.

It is imperative we move forward with this vetted, holistic and comprehensive RhodeWorks proposal. The plan seeks to achieve 90 percent structurally sufficient bridges by 2025.

Additionally, Rhode Island will be more attractive to businesses, and create about 11,000 job-years over the next decade.

Delays in addressing the aforementioned challenge will continue to impact safety, transportation and the economy. We cannot afford to wait. The time to act is now!

 

Senator Louis P. DiPalma (D – Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Tiverton and Newport) serves as 1st Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a member of the Senate Education Committee.

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