As Rhode Island lawmakers continue to debate tolling on the Sakonnet River Bridge, the head of the authority that run it has threatened to return the bridge to the state if a political impasse continues.
The Senate finance committee on Tuesday extended the deadline for deciding about tolls for the Tiverton-to-Portsmouth bridge from April 1 to May 15. In the House, Rep. John Edwards, D-Tiverton, who had proposed a July 1 deadline, now favors matching the Senate version.
David Darlington, chairman of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, said the temporary toll passed as part of last year's budget provides inadequate funding. Further uncertainty, he added, could ripple through the capital markets.
"In this uncertain financial environment, the rating agencies may take action to downgrade the ratings of RITBA," Darlington told lawmakers in
Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's rate the authority A and A-minus, respectively.
The bridge carries state routes 24 and 138 across the river from Tiverton to Portsmouth connecting mainland Rhode Island with Aquidneck Island. The bridge, which sits near the Massachusetts line, is popular with out-of-state drivers heading to and from Newport at the southern end of the island.
A proposed toll has become politically ensnared over the past year. A 10-cent "placeholder" toll is now in place, added as a rider to last year's budget. Federal regulations only permit bridge tolling if it begins before substantial completion of a project. Without legislative action, the toll would revert automatically to RITBA's proposed 50 cents for some E-ZPass transponder holders and $3.75 for other drivers.
State officials say toll money is necessary to maintain the span, which opened in September 2012 at a cost of $164 million, while some East Bay residents and lawmakers, including Edwards, argue that a toll would discourage tourists and harm the local economy.
Edwards has also proposed raising $1 billion for infrastructure by rechanneling state funds and adding a 5% surcharge to motor vehicle fees. "Bridge tolls are still a hot-button issue for my district and the East Bay, although I certainly would not limit this conundrum to just East Bay residents," he said.
The state last year transferred the Sakonnet and Jamestown Verrazano bridges to RITBA, conditioned on enactment of an "adequate" toll for RITBA to maintain its four saltwater bridges. The Jamestown Verrazano links Jamestown and North Kingstown. The agency also operates the Claiborne Pell Bridge from Jamestown to Newport; and the Mount Hope, which connects Portsmouth and Bristol.
According to Darlington, the transfer back to the state would enable the agency to fully comply with bond covenants, while the revenue from the increased toll would enable RITBA to issue bond anticipation notes expected to cover financial needs through fiscal 2015.
The RITBA board was scheduled to meet Wednesday in Jamestown to discuss Sakonnet and Newport toll rates.
This week, state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo proposed a municipal infrastructure bank to help cities and towns obtain funding for infrastructure upgrades.
Raimondo, who is running for governor, would expand and manage the municipal road and bridge revolving fund and establish a formula to fund ongoing maintenance; create a green bank to enable communities and homeowners to retrofit buildings; create a school building authority to stimulate construction and capital improvements.
