Rhode Island

Opposition is steadily growing in the small west Rhode Island communities to state moves to collect a toll on I-95. Richmond and Hopkinton town councils are now on record as opposing the RI/I-95 toll for which the state is seeking federal approval, and they are likely to be joined by Westerly.

Rhode Island officials have released details of their application to toll I-95 for reconstruction putting pressure on both US Secretary Ray LaHood and Republican House transport committee chair John Mica whose statements have suggested they both seem to want to block tolls except for extra capacity. The Rhode Island application dated June 29 has not received any response from the Federal Highway Administration.

The Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island DOT are not discouraged from plans for tolling I-95 in that state by remarks from US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Dana Nolfe chief spokesman for the DOT said Governor Chafee's plan fits the reconstruction provisions of current law on tolling the interstates.

Judge William E Smith of US District Court in Rhode Island ruled against claims in a class action suit that Rhode Island bridge authority's discounted toll schedule for state residents is unconstitutional.

Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority's (RITBA) board of directors voted this week to ask Jacobs, their consulting engineers to plan how they could do four open road toll (ORT) lanes through the middle of their toll plaza at the Pell Bridge in Jamestown. RITBA chairman, David A Darlington told us the introduction of E-ZPass transponders January 2009 has been very successful - they have 80% transponder usage now, 20% cash.

A Connecticut woman is heading a law suit against Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority (RITBA) over discriminatory toll rates for E-ZPass. RITBA which only introduced electronic tolling on their Newport Pell Bridge this January is charging $1.75 to out of state E-ZPass Inter Agency Group (IAG) accounts including Massachusetts FAST LANE.

Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) is seeking qualifications from traffic and revenue consultants for an important set of investment grade studies. RITBA operates the tolled Newport/Pell Bridge and maintains the Mount Hope Bridge, both major suspension spans.

Just eight weeks after the Dec 16 introduction of electronic tolling at the Pell Bridge near Newport Rhode Island 67% of transactions are by transponder. 14% are out-of-state E-ZPass IAG transponders and 53% are transponders issued by Rhode Island toll bridge authority (RITBA) which operates the Pell toll bridge, the gateway to Newport RI from New York and Connecticut.

Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority (RITBA) is joining the E-ZPass interagency group (IAG) as an associate member, and is in the middle of an electronic toll systems procurement. Telvent Caseta got the $1.8m contract a few weeks ago for front end work, beating TRMI, Intrans and Transtoll.

They'll install and integrate front end systems for 12 lanes equivalent (ten real lanes, two being double covered superwide lanes).

Who says crime doesn't pay. Michael P Lewis, 46, the Massachusetts Turnpike's Big Dig manager through serial scandals, multi-billion dollar cost overruns, shoddy construction, and a fatal ceiling collapse, 2000 to 2007 - the biggest public works management fiasco in America in modern times - the manager of this megamess is now on a Turnpike pension for life of $72,578 plus 80% health insurance, the Boston Globe reports.