Politics & Government

Little Compton Town Council Opposes Tolls

In a unanimous vote last week, the Little Compton Town Council passed a resolution fully opposing tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge.

The Little Compton Town Council united in full opposition against the proposed toll on the Sakonnet River Bridge at the request of residents at its Thursday night meeting.

The council passed the resolution unanimously after resident Carolyn Montgomery spoke of the hardship the toll would cause for residents.

"There is a lot to it and not only that, but anybody who transports goods in and out of Newport County - you and I are going to pay the difference because they are going to add it to the price," said Montgomery.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She mentioned the rising cost of the work commute for residents and cost of school buses passing over the bridge as many as four times per day to transport Little Compton's high school students to Portsmouth.

"If we don't at least try and fail, at least we've tried," she said.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The council discussed establishing an ad hoc committee to research ways to stop the proposed toll from being installed. The toll would likely not be installed until the summer of 2013 after construction is finished and the ownership transfer from the state Department of Transportation to the state Turnpike and Bridge Authority is complete.

"The Town Council hereby opposes the state's decision to place tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge," said Robert L. Mushen, president. "It also supports the cited petition opposing the imposition of tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge."

"This is in essence a full opposition," Mushen continued. "In other words we want to say at this point we oppose the toll entirely, we will allow the process to unfold and then come out with a particular position."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here