Feds agree to rescind order for Sakonnet River Bridge tolls

Action would take potential bridge levy off table for good

By Jim McGaw
Posted 4/22/19

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Future tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge may have sustained a deathblow now that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has agreed to rescind a 2013 order that …

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Feds agree to rescind order for Sakonnet River Bridge tolls

Action would take potential bridge levy off table for good

Posted

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Future tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge may have sustained a deathblow now that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has agreed to rescind a 2013 order that kept the levy on the table.

“The FHWA is rescinding the 2013 revised record of decision (ROD), per the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) letter date April 2, 2019,” Carlos C. Machado, the FHWA’s Rhode Island division administrator, stated in a letter received by the town on April 15. “Rescinding the 2013 revised ROD will invalidate the actions taken pertaining to the implementation of tolling one the Sakonnet River Bridge.

The action comes after the Town Council, inn February, voted to file a federal lawsuit against state and federal highway officials to challenge the legality of tolling motorists who cross over the span connecting Portsmouth and Tiverton.

At issue was the ROD that effectively granted federal authority to the state to impose tolls on the bridge. Because that authorization was never withdrawn after bridge tolls were halted in 2014, many suspected a scheme to eventually restore the tolls.

FHWA initially responded to the town’s suit by saying it could not rescind the order on its own because RIDOT was the project sponsor and joint lead agency at the site. In an April 2 letter to Mr. Machado, however, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. formally asked FHWA to rescind the ROD.

Last week, Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. said the recent FHWA letter was sent to several “stakeholders” and that the ROD will be rescinded “barring any pushback” from those parties by May 7.

Mr. Rainer, however, said he couldn’t imagine who would object to getting rid of the tolls for good. 

“That would be strange,” he said.

Sakonnet River Bridge, Portsmouth Town Council

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