LETTER: Tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge and Questions For DOT Director
Tiverton resident Roger A. Bennis writes a letter to the editor and demands answers from DOT Director Michael P. Lewis.
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To the Editor:
I am writing an open letter to DOT Director Lewis, with a request to clarify statements made on 03/26/12, (by DOTDirector Michael P. Lewis) and reported in a Newport Daily News article, “DOT director: Toll needed on new bridge” on 03/27/12.
The article stated: “Tolls from the Pell Bridge and the new Sakonnet Bridge would be dedicated to repairs of all four Newport County spans with about $10 million to $15 million a year reserved for other East Bay road and bridgeprojects, Lewis said. That would ensure local infrastructure projects do not have to compete for finite state resources,he said.”
QUESTION 1: Does the above statement indicate that the tolls from the Newport Bridge and the proposed SakonnetBridge toll would support the maintenance and repair of the Newport, Bridge, the Sakonnet Bridge, the JamestownBridge, and the Mount Hope Bridge, plus $10 million to $15 million from the tolls would be reserved for maintenanceand repair of all East Bay (Newport County and Bristol County) bridges and roads?
QUESTION 2: Does the statement above ‘That would ensure local infrastructure projects do not have to compete forfinite state resources, he said.’ indicate that the reason that East Bay projects would not have to compete for resourcesis because all the East Bay bridge and road funding would be from the tolls, and none of the funding would come fromthe RI DOT via the RI gas tax, or the RI DOT funding, or the RI funding received from the Federal Government for RIroad and bridge projects?
QUESTION 3: Does the above statement indicate that it is the intent of the DOT to transfer all DOT bridge and roadfunding (other than the tolls from the Newport and Sakonnet Bridges) from the East Bay to the remainder of the State,if and when the Sakonnet Bridge starts collecting tolls?
QUESTION 4: Does the above statement indicate that after the $10 million to $15 million a year re served for otherEast Bay road and bridge projects, any money left from the Newport County tolls could be used to supplement themoney for bridges and roads across the remainder of the State?
QUESTION 5: Do you believe that it is fair, moral, and legal to transfer bridge and road funding from the East Bay tothe remainder of the state, when the money is derived from the RI gas tax, the RI income and sales tax, other RI taxesand fees, and from the Federal give back of federal taxes to RI for bridges and roads?Wouldn’t that be the same as using the toll money to supplement the entire RI DOT budget for the entire State of RI, atthe expense of the East Bay?
Roger A. Bennis
Tiverton Resident
Tom
5:06 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
Nuts
Joe Sousa
6:49 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012
I’ve been researching to learn exactly what the State has to do in order to put tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge . From the head of the RI. Turnpike and Bridge Authority I learned they need approval from the Federal Highway Administration . First the RITBA has to conduct an environmental impact study . Next the RITBA will hold public hearings . The study and the public opinion data will be turned over to the Federal Highway Administration The FHA will take the comments from the public hearings and the results from the environmental impact study into consideration. They will be looking at the Social, Economic, and Environmental impact before they make their decision . When I spoke with a representative from the Federal Highway Administration today he told me what they look for . Letters from citizens and businesses that will be affected are a large part of their decision process . Keep in mind they didn’t allow the State to put Tolls on I 95 . It is so important that we send hundreds if not thousands of letters to them . It’s also important to be there when these public hearings go on this winter . We need letters from businesses telling them how tolls will affect their revenue and employees . We need letters from both RI. and Mass resident. We need them to know it will hurt the poor, the elderly, businesses, and the working public .
Joe Sousa
6:52 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012
It will take a coordinated effort with every concerned citizen doing their part to STOP this ill conceived idea . Please do your part and put pen to paper today . Get your letter to one of the groups that are working to STOP the Tolls.
Joe Sousa Tiverton
joesousa49@yahoo.com
TivertonSTOP@gmail.com
Tivertontaxpayer1
7:33 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Joe-Are you positive on those email addresses? Might they be crimeboss@yahoo.com or notorious@yahoo.com?
Jim L
5:08 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
and the answer is NO TOLLS, NO TOLLS NO Tolls, review all of the above to see how the GA is treating us like chumps. When the tolls suck the jobs from the Feds and tourists of the island the one's way for them to go is after the boating industry and higher tolls for residents, Stand up and FIGHT use your voice, use your pen, use your vote, If we don't change things THIS WILL HAPPEN, and it will be on you all of us, our kids and their kids, remember WHO voted for this
Tom
6:17 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
I agree Jim, it's not the message, just the messenger!
KSilvia
6:39 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
??
Jim L
7:10 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
Brendon Doherty will be at the Bridge opening tomorrow morning I urge anyone who wants to help stop this come and show your support, Stop and donttoll can use any help from any where, please come, let the Ga and the Governor no that We stand united about this
Jim L
9:53 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
hell hate all you want , I don't care! your a zero in my life like i am in yours, BUT the Tolls bag both our family's, thats all that matters, it effects your life, your kids, your grand children, this is not Tiverton or TCC T1/curb Middletown ,Portsmouth, in fighting about local stuff, it's the entire Newport county economy, It's everything from Clam chowda contest' america's cup races to Tiverton Jr basketball, so if you can't help just step out of the way or leave your personnal insults on the Tiverton town site, don't come here to damage me and damage us all. Is that to much to ask?
TIger
11:16 am on Friday, October 5, 2012
Another great letter from Colonel Sanders!!
Tom
11:44 am on Friday, October 5, 2012
Hey TIger have you verified Mr. Katz Math.
Jim L
2:54 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012
Tiger lets talk about your comment to fix the FTR so only the budget commitee can put up a budget, you just another unknown sad person trying to throw insults, you and T1/curb guys are good at that
TIger
2:08 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012
Katzhole math is very tricky. You manipulate the numbers to make your case hoping everyone else is dumber than you are. It is the old saying "Figures don't lie, liers figure".
Just Another Taxpayer
5:05 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012
The Budget Committee puts forward the only vetted budget for voters to approve or disapprove. It is that simple.
Jim L
2:55 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012
Do the numbers give the proof, duck and cover, it what T1 does
bigmanny
4:05 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012
Hey here is an idea Dim, why don't you prove that the school comm numbers are wrong. Break out your counting blocks and take off your shoes and count it up. If you don't have enough fingers and toes try rounding up your empty tall boys and counting them. chug a lug tgif .
Jim L
8:12 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Joe Sousa, Stop and donttoll are drafting a letter to go to business owners and private citizens alike , It will have a list of reasons to stop tolls and a place for personal comments, One of the main reasons behind this is because many of the small business owners I talk to in Newport are against the tolls but will not except a petition for fear of loseing local business. To me that is more than understandable and this approach will allow NO TOLLS no expand further , I we, they us them, you can see down the road what this will do to Newport county, from killing the Tiverton indy park to removing vital dollars from local small places to major job effects, We must all put local politics aside and fight state politics that are at fault on this, If we as citizens cannot allow this to take place on our children and theirs ,they will be paying tolls for years to come, and to who? Not the State! not the DOT, but a semi private company, but they say the money will fix OUR bridges and OUR roads, But i have never seen the Turnpike and Bridge folks paving a road, fixing a catch basin, plowing a major road, hows that going to work? Another question that will get a big "WE DON"T KNOW" from upstate NO TOLLS
dick sherman
10:02 am on Sunday, October 21, 2012
The answer is simple folks. When the toll opens everyone go through without paying.. Let them try handling 32,000 people a day not paying in court. Dick
Robert E
11:10 am on Sunday, October 21, 2012
Dick you do realize that there will be no toll booth and toll takers don't you. Its called open road tolling it records your license plate and they send you a bill. Try not paying and see how long it takes the state to suspend your registration.
Jim L
11:50 am on Sunday, October 21, 2012
They were talking about 5 or 6 infractions, latest I heard is that your registraction will be suspended 1 month after ticket is mailed