Rhode Island Toll Proposal Dead for Now

Remember Rhode Island’s plan to place tolls on I-95 at the Connecticut border?

It’s dead for now. The Federal Highway Administration has rejected Rhode Island’s request to install toll booths on I-95 in Hopkinton, near the Connecticut line. Rhode Island officials had estimated the tolls would generate about $40 million annually, according to the Providence Journal.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney praised the decision. “I am a strong supporter of infrastructure investment, and I understand the challenges facing states today, but Rhode Island’s toll proposal would have disproportionately impacted southeastern Connecticut travelers,” Courtney, who represents Eastern Connecticut in Congress, said in a press release issued this morning.

“The Federal Highway Administration did the right thing in rejecting Rhode Island’s proposal, which would have made existing congestion even worse and wrought havoc on smaller roads as drivers tried to avoid tolls,” Courtney added.

The federal government is launching a program to test toll collection as a way to fund highway improvements. Rhode Island has applied to be one of three states to participate, but the Highway Administration informed Courtney’s office this morning that North Carolina was selected instead. The administration had already approved requests from Virginia and Missouri.

Courtney had written a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary ray LaHood voicing his objection to the plan.

Also fighting the plan was Republican state Sen. John Kissel of Enfield.

“It’s great to see that this ill-advised idea is now stuck in a long-term traffic jam,” Kissel said in a statement. “Tolls near the state line would impede commerce, hurt Connecticut tourism and possibly set off a toll war in New England.”