East Bay Lawmakers Denounce Proposal To Combine RITBA, RIDOT
NEWPORT, RI — Several East Bay lawmakers are voicing opposition to a proposal to combine the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority under the umbrella of the state's Department of Transportation.
Rep. Deborah Ruggerio and Rep. Lauren Carson both voiced concerns that such a merger would lead to the state's bridges falling into a state of disrepair along with Rhode Island's oft-maligned roads. The RITBA is a quasi-governmental agency, while RIDOT is run by the state government.
Ruggerio, who represents Portsmouth and Jamestown, urged the Jamestown Town Council to pass a resolution opposing the merger.
"For decades the people who live on the islands and in the East Bay have been paying tolls and RITBA has been very responsibly managing its revenues and keeping our bridges and roads safe and well-maintained. Meanwhile, roads and bridges in the rest of the state, maintained by RIDOT, have deteriorated to the point where we have some of the worst bridges in the country," Ruggerio said.
The opposition comes after Gov. Gina Raimondo said she is considering merging the two transportation agencies. Newport already passed a resolution opposing the move.
"While the state needs to do the hard work on catching up on that maintenance, merging these agencies would mean island and East Bay residents’ tolls would be subsidizing an underfunded statewide transportation system, and the bridges where they are charged would be left to deteriorate just like bridges in the rest of the state," Ruggerio continued. "There is grave concern that if RIDOT takes over these bridges, it could even constitute a breach of millions of dollars in existing bond covenants."
RITBA operates the Jamestown Verrazano, Newport Pell, Mount Hope and Sakonnet River bridges, as well as Route 138 in Jamestown, along with several smaller bridges and connecting roads. One of the main concerns in a merger, Ruggiero said, is who would helm the newly merged department, since current RIDOT Director Peter Alviti could be replaced by Raimondo within the next two years.
"There are many questions, but one thing is for certain: The people of our area stand only to lose out on any proposal that removes local control and makes our bridges just a handful of the hundreds being managed by a statewide agency," Ruggiero concluded.
Newport Rep. Carson also spoke out against the merger, saying that the merger was not the best solution to address the state's struggling finances amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the editor, she said that "allowing an agency with a questionable track record for maintaining our infrastructure to absorb both the responsibility and the revenue from one that has excelled in its duties and financial performance for many years is shortsighted and unfair to the island and East Bay communities."
"Aquidneck Island and East Bay residents are the people who use RITBA’s bridges and resources the most, and we are largely the source of its funding through the tolls we pay to do so," Carson said. "Fortunately, RITBA is well-run, and has done a much better job maintaining its bridges and roads, while those in RIDOT’s purview are some of the poorest-maintained in the nation. Allowing RIDOT to take over RITBA will mean the money we pay in tolls will no longer be dedicated to our local bridges, but will instead go to the statewide agency, or perhaps the state’s general fund. People in this part of the state will essentially be taxed in ways the rest of the state isn’t, for bridges that will wind up being just as deteriorated as the rest of RIDOT’s."
Carson went on the call the proposed merger "irresponsible" at present, when the Pell Bridge is in the middle of a major repaving project and preparing for the ramp realignment project.
"These projects require the full resources RITBA has committed to them," she continued. "I will oppose this proposal if it comes to the House, and I urge local leaders to keep their voices loud and consistent in opposition to it."
This article originally appeared on the Newport Patch
