Rhode Island Court Upholds Truck Tolling Program

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has revived Rhode Island's truck tolling system, known as RhodeWorks, allowing the state to impose tolls on tractor-trailers while ruling that caps on tolls are unconstitutional. The court found that the tolls, which apply solely to intrastate bridges, do not violate the dormant Commerce Clause, but the provision limiting the number of tolls a truck can incur in a day does. This decision is seen as a partial victory for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which has opposed the tolling plan since its inception in 2016. The program was originally halted following a 2022 ruling that deemed the tolls unconstitutional, but the recent appellate ruling permits it to resume, although the capped toll limits were severed from the law. The RhodeWorks initiative is aimed at generating revenue for bridge repairs, with tolls designed to target heavy commercial vehicles that contribute significantly to road wear. The ruling emphasizes that while some provisions were invalidated, the overall framework of RhodeWorks remains intact.