Providence Journal photo / Donita Naylor
Randy Martin of Portsmouth protests outside of the hearing Tuesday at Tiverton High School, where the 500-seat auditorium was packed. Toll opponents also packed the hearing Monday in Portsmouth.
TIVERTON, R.I. -- It was standing room only Tuesday night at the Tiverton High School auditorium as the second of two public workshops was held on a proposal to impose tolls on the new Sakonnet River Bridge.
State Department of Transportation Director Michael P. Lewis started off by describing revenue sources and expenses for roads and bridges.
RIDOT owned the bridge connecting Tiverton and the Aquidneck Island town of Portsmouth until it was transferred to the R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority in the current budget because RIDOT did not have the resources to maintain it.
The workshop was held to gather comments on a revision to the new bridge's federal environmental impact statement. Installing toll booths or collecting tolls from an overhead electronic system would affect emissions near the bridge.