Saturday, November 9, 2024

On Your Dime: Rhode Island grapples with funding issues as infrastructure costs soar

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Infrastructure funding is in flux in Rhode Island as the state takes on numerous projects amid growing funding challenges.

The anticipated price tag on the Washington Bridge has ballooned to nearly half a billion dollars and the state’s truck toll legal battle is still tied up in court– a key funding component for RhodeWorks, an initiative to get 90% of the state’s deteriorating bridges to structural sufficiency by 2026.

$3.1 billion has been spent repairing 306 bridges over the past eight years under RhodeWorks, decreasing the number of structurally deficient bridges to 14% from a high of 27%, but there’s still work that needs to be done.

“Right now, we’ve got another 50 that are structurally deficient, many of which we will do in the next two years,” Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said.

But a cloud of cash troubles is looming over RIDOT.

Rhode Island was forced to shut down its truck tolls in September of 2022, after a lower court judge ruled they violate the Commerce Clause.

While the state is appealing that decision, RIDOT is running out of truck toll funds.

Documents obtained by the NBC 10 I-Team show out of the roughly $100 million in revenue generated from the program and spent on RhodeWorks projects, only $5 million is left.

The state has already been forced to supplement the loss with taxpayer funds over the past year and a half, a solution that will continue if the state loses the appeal.

“We’re already beginning to discuss strategies to reinvent the funding strategy,” Alviti said. “We have become very good at getting additional federal grants working with our congressional delegation.”

While the state has gotten an influx of federal funds, Rhode Island has a 20% state match.

The state’s primary way of paying that state match is through the gas tax, money that’s expected to diminish as the state moves toward electric vehicles.

“The issue is that the gas tax is declining, even as the tax is going up,” Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council President Michael DiBiase said. “If we don’t put any new revenue sources in place, we will likely need to borrow that money.”

Gov. Dan McKee already wants to borrow against the state’s future federal highway funding and gas tax revenue for the Washington Bridge.

Bonds for additional roadwork would put the state in a tricky financial spot.

With no long-term solution in place, state lawmakers are also searching for answers.

“There are always concerns to ensure we have the money moving forward,” Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Lou DiPalma said. “We need to look at it and figure out how to address the situation in front of us,” DiPalma said.

A tax on electric vehicles has been mentioned as a possible solution to the gas tax, but nothing has been decided on.

“That discussion is happening nationally,” Alviti said. “There are a number of alternatives, but I think those will come into focus in the next few years as that transition happens.”

When it comes to the truck tolls, DiBiase said Rhode Island may have to consider an expansion if the appeal is lost.

“If the state were to lose that case, one of the decision points would be should they go back to a broader tax, perhaps all trucks,” he said.

With so many projects planned and more roads and bridges deteriorating, DiBiase said the legislature must work fast to find a solution.

“We have made some good progress in the last several years through RhodeWorks and through the extra federal money,” he said. “If we don’t keep making improvements we will reverse that progress.”

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