Rhode Island’s trucks-only tolls have been delayed until at least the end of May, according to RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr.Truckers traveling through Rhode Island along I-95 will get at least another month of toll-free travel after another delay in the implementation of the state’s trucks-only toll system was announced last week, according to a report from the Providence Journal.
The report states Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. testified before Rhode Island House lawmakers last week that he expects the tolls to begin collecting “by the end of May.”
The delay is a result of further testing of the systems in Richmond and Hopkinton to make sure they are working properly. Alviti told lawmakers the governor instructed RIDOT “to test them until we are absolutely sure they are running at 100 percent – and then take more time to make sure that when we turn the switch on, they work the first time and every time that a vehicle passes underneath them,” the report says.
Two of the planned 14 tolls in the state were originally set to be active by the end of 2017, but permitting issues delayed the process.
Specific rates for the first two toll locations have not yet been set, but a November report from the Federal Highway Administration assumes a “conservative range” of $3.50 to $4.50 per toll location. Truckers will only be tolled once per toll facility per day in each direction with a $20 total to travel I-95 across the state. Tolls cannot exceed $40 per day.
