Rhode Island’s enacted budget anticipates $20 million in truck-toll revenue by the end of June 2027, but the program is inactive and cannot restart until equipment upgrades are completed. RIDOT has estimated those upgrades will cost about $20 million and expects tolls eventually to bring in $45 million a year, NBC 10 reported. Equipment problems pushed the planned restart from spring 2026 to 2027; the state is now targeting next summer, the outlet reported.
The state’s FY 2027 budget maintains the gasoline tax at 41 cents, including the one-cent environmental protection fee, according to the General Assembly’s budget summary.
A restart would have to meet court limits
RhodeWorks was signed into law to help pay for road and bridge repairs. It applied to Class 8 trucks at 14 locations and had a $20 daily maximum. The program was later the subject of a First Circuit decision in 2024. The program collected nearly $100 million over four years of operation, NBC 10 reported.
Rhode Island shut the tolls off after a 2022 federal ruling against charging different rates to in-state and out-of-state trucks, NBC 10 reported. In 2024, the First Circuit concluded the state could toll the covered trucks to fund bridge repairs but ruled the statutory daily caps discriminatory.
Transportation needs extend beyond the toll debate
The Brown Daily Herald reported improvement in Rhode Island’s bridge conditions and that the state left a federal penalty phase. The outlet also reported that nearly 24% of the state’s bridges were rated poor when RhodeWorks began in 2016. Separately, a September Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council analysis found that 48% of urban principal arterial miles were in poor condition in 2024—the highest share in the nation—and linked the road-maintenance problem to deferred work while funding was concentrated on bridges. These figures concern different infrastructure categories and do not, on their own, establish what toll revenue would have changed on roads.
Candidates oppose a restart, while the budget counts revenue
At their first general-election debate, gubernatorial candidates Helena Foulkes, Aaron Guckian and Ken Block each opposed restarting the tolls, Providence Business News reported. Incumbent Gov. Dan McKee lost the Democratic primary.
Business concerns also center on who pays. The Rhode Island Trucking Association has opposed truck-toll plans, Land Line Media reported. The next administration will face the unresolved question of whether to pursue a restart while the enacted budget anticipates revenue from a program the leading gubernatorial candidates say they would not resume.
