WPRO News
The president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association released a public records request Monday that has been filed with Peter Alviti, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, seeking information related to “RhodeWorks”, Governor Raimondo’s controversial toll plan, claiming that repeated requests for the information have gone ignored.
“From the very beginning of this process we have continually called on the administration to release more information related to their tolling plan. Unfortunately, those repeated requests have been ignored and it has forced us to file a public records request so that our members and all Rhode Island businesses can truly understand the impact of RhodeWorks,” said Christopher Maxwell, president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association in a statement to the press.
The statement continued:
“Stating that the federal highway administration has to approve toll locations so they cannot be disclosed yet is not a plausible excuse for withholding this information. It is clear the administration knows where they intend to place the tolling gantries, otherwise how could they attempt to project revenue to support the bond payment. The governor is asking members of the General Assembly to make a $1 billion decision yet they don’t even know how many tolling locations will be located in their districts.”
The Trucking Association is seeking “a statewide roadway map with specific locations of all proposed toll gantries for the RhodeWorks program,” along with all written and electronic correspondence between RIDOT and the Office of the Governor regarding toll and bridges locations for RhodeWorks program, and all correspondence both written and electronic between RIDOT and the Federal Highway Administration related to the federal tolling exemption.
Maxwell added that “We do not want to have a combative relationship with the governor and we have put fiscal solutions on the table to address the condition of Rhode Island’s roads and bridges. Let’s get this information into the public domain so this entire process is more transparent and lawmakers will have a greater understanding of what they are voting on.”
SEE THE COMPLETE REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION HERE.
The Raimondo administration has 10 business days to provide the requested documents or provide notification in writing why they are denying access to the requested records, according to Rhode Island state law. The request period may be extended another 20 days if “good cause” can be established during the original 10-day timeframe.
RI Trucking Association spokesman Bill Fischer spoke with WPRO’s Dan Yorke on Monday afternoon.
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION BELOW:
