Gantries on every street? "Jobs, jobs, jobs?" Since last May, supporters and opponents of Governor Raimondo’s truck-toll bridge plan have generated enough spin and rhetoric to confuse even the most astute observer. So now that the truck toll bill is law, what can Rhode Islanders expect and when? Some common questions answered about truck tolls and "RhodeWorks."

When will crews start erecting toll gantries above Rhode Island highways and when will big rigs have to pay when they pass under them?

The R.I. Department of Transportation started its search for a toll system design consultant the morning after Raimondo signed the toll bill — but it’s still going to be quite a while, possibly years, before residents see gantries or truckers start getting billed. The consultant’s job is to draw up specifications for the toll network so the state can get bids and hire a company to build and operate the system. The state also put out a bid Friday for a third, and even more detailed, traffic study to help inform the plan. DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. said after the bill-signing ceremony that it will likely be 1½ to two years before tolls are operational.

If it’s two years before tolling starts, what will happen to all these crumbling, structurally deficient bridges in the meantime?

A "surge" of construction work to repair dilapidated bridges was the prime selling point behind Raimondo’s original toll plan, but in the legislation reshaped by House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and passed Thursday, the "surge" doesn’t rely on tolls at all. Instead, the money for immediate repair projects will come from new borrowing, specifically a $300-million bond drawn on an increase in future federal highway aid and refinancing earlier borrowing. The money from tolls, projected at $45 million annually, is intended to fill in when the bond runs out and prevent bridges from deteriorating in the future. Down the road, it will also likely be used to finance new projects. In his testimony this week, Alviti mentioned building a new ramp from Route 95 North to Route 4, adding a lane to Route 95 where it splits to Route 146 and repairing Route 6 in western Rhode Island as possible future projects.

When will construction start on the projects using the bond money and what bridges are going to get done?

In its 10-year plan released last year, and up for approval by the State Planning Council this spring, the DOT slated 702 bridges in all corners of the state for repair. Some of those projects will start when the weather warms up. The state expects to float the new bond around the end of March. We don’t know how many of these projects could have been done without borrowing or tolls — with the additional $25 million in annual federal funding passed by Congress last fall — because the DOT never ran those numbers. However, the bulk of the $420-million "surge" borrowing will likely go to a massive Routes 6 and 10 replacement project. The DOT estimates that rebuilding that highway system as it is would cost $500 million, but there is significant debate over whether replicating the "Connector" is wise. On Friday, the DOT put out two bids for consultants to plan the 6-10 project and help figure out if it should become a surface boulevard or include a dedicated mass transit lane.

How do these tolls work? Will trucks have to slow down or be separated from cars?



The tolls — 14 are currently planned — are collected autonomously by electronics mounted on steel gantries spanning the highway that don't require tollbooths. Essentially, they use EZ-Pass and other Radio Frequency Identification systems employed across the country. According to DOT officials, a laser system mounted on the gantries can estimate the size of each vehicle traveling on the highway and determine whether it should be charged a toll. Most large commercial trucks have a toll transponder — whether EZ-Pass or another system — and if the laser determines the truck is large enough, a sensor will charge the account linked to the transponder it passed beneath. For trucks that don’t have a transponder, a camera on the gantry will take a photo of the license plate and the toll operator will track down the owner and collect. The electronics work in any lane and at normal highway speeds, so trucks do not have to slow down or enter a special lane. According to DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin, the system will not photograph the plates of anything other than a tractor-trailer.

How much will it cost to build and operate the toll systems?



The DOT estimates building the gantry systems will cost around $38 million and cost $4.4 million annually to operate.

What prevents the state from charging average motorists or using the toll systems to collect data about them?



The truck toll bill signed Thursday states: "The tolls shall be collected on large commercial trucks only and shall not be collected on any other vehicle. No act authorizing tolls on passenger vehicles pursuant to this chapter shall take effect until it has been approved by the majority of those electors voting in a statewide referendum." The bill defines large commercial trucks as those with three or more axles and a trailer. And an amendment to prevent large pickups towing boats or landscaping equipment from being tolled added that they must meet the federal definition of a tractor-trailer. Of course, the General Assembly could always change the law, including the part requiring a ballot referendum to toll cars. An amendment that would have prohibited the collection or sharing of data from the gantries was defeated.

Could these tolls be killed by lawsuits?



The Rhode Island Trucking Association said it expects companies will sue and during floor debates lawmakers opposed to tolls laid out a series of potential strategies to bring the law down in court. The most frequent allegation against the plan is that it would interfere with interstate commerce and it would give preference to some drivers over others. The size of toll evader penalties in the bill — a $3,000 maximum, compared with a $500 maximum fine for evading the Newport Pell Bridge toll — was mentioned by Sen. John Pagliarini, R-Portsmouth, as one example. Constitutionality concerns prompted lawmakers to remove a series of rebates for local companies from the latest version of the bill. If lawsuits are brought against the toll, they are not likely to be filed until the first tolls are collected.

—panderson@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7384



On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_