R.I. Bridge-Road Revolving Fund Draws $29M in Requests

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Rhode Island's new municipal road and bridge revolving fund generated applications from 13 municipalities requesting $29 million, House Speaker Gordon Fox and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo announced.

The Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency and the state Department of Transportation implement the program, which the legislature approved with $7 million in startup money earlier this year.

"By implementing an innovative and cost-saving alternative for cities and towns to finance their road and bridge improvements, we are supporting an important economic cornerstone for our state and creating jobs," Raimondo said Tuesday.

State DOT officials will now prioritize the municipal submissions from an engineering perspective, according to Raimondo. Clean Water is expected to make financing decisions by the beginning of 2014, in time for the spring construction season.

Barrington, East Greenwich, New Shoreham, Cumberland, Burrillville, Warwick, Narragansett, East Providence, Newport, Pawtucket, Westerly, Coventry and Middletown submitted projects for review. Proposals range from repaving to bridge reconstruction.

The revolving fund, which essentially works like an infrastructure bank, provides municipal access to capital at lower-rates for long-range planning and provides local budget relief by lowering annual debt service payments, Raimondo said.

Rhode Island is scheduled to sell $52 million of general obligation bonds this week. On Thursday, the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. intends to sell $69 million on behalf of the Providence Public Schools revenue bond financing program.

Moody's Investors Service rates the state's GO bonds Aa2, while Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's assign AA ratings.

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Transportation industry Rhode Island
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