It will take longer than expected for Rhode Island to resume collecting truck-only tolls.
State officials had expected the tolls, which have been inactive since a 2022 court ruling found them unconstitutional, to resume in the first half of 2026. It appears now that it won’t be happening – and the state isn’t exactly sure when it will.
The cause of the delay, according to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, is a two-part problem – the first of which starts with the toll gantries themselves.
“The tolling system had laid dormant for three and a half years, with some systems having been installed and exposed to the elements since 2018,” Charles St. Martin, RIDOT’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, told WJAR News. “During our assessment, we determined more of the equipment was in need of replacement, so that process is taking longer than anticipated.”
St. Martin said the other issue holding up the resumption of the tolls is the need for a new “back-office system” for billing, specifically one designed to comply with the new rules, which removed the daily cap for tolls.
“This new timeframe also will provide ample time to assure that these complex hardware and software systems are operating with optimal accuracy on day one when we turn the switch on,” St. Martin said.
The Rhode Island Trucking Association has been a vocal opponent to the state resuming its truck-only tolling program. The group’s President, Chris Maxwell, said he isn’t buying what the state DOT is trying to sell.
“While they claim the delay is due to equipment upgrades, we suspect that the real cause is the looming fall election and a reluctance of politicians to double down on a program that has so miserably backfired,” Maxwell told Land Line.
There is still no concrete timetable for when the tolls will be turned back on, but officials have said it will not be before June 30, which marks the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
Rhode Island’s attempt to collect truck-only tolls has had a rocky history.
The state began tolling commercial vehicles in 2018 to fund repairs to bridges and other infrastructure across Rhode Island. However, in September 2022, a U.S. District Court ruled the tolls unconstitutional, finding that the state’s plan violated the Commerce Clause, which forbids states from imposing charges with the intent to discriminate in favor of domestic entities and against out-of-state or interstate entities.
The state appealed that ruling. In December 2024, a federal appeals court sided with Rhode Island, saying the truck-only tolling system did not meet the legal precedent required to be in violation of the commerce clause, and that attorneys failed to prove the tolls created a “substantial” disadvantage for out-of-state truckers. That ruling would set the table for the state to resume tolling commercial vehicles with some modifications.
While the appeals court determined the state could resume its tolling plan, it found the daily toll caps unconstitutional because they disproportionately benefited in-state trucking companies. When it resumes, state officials said the revised tolling schedule will affect both in-state and out-of-state carriers equally.
The state’s resumption of truck tolls, absent the daily caps, has been met with resistance from local carriers and trucking groups. In May 2025, the Rhode Island Trucking Association sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to reconsider resuming the truck tolls.
The trucking group contends the now-unconstitutional caps were placed in the original 2016 legislation as a “covenant made with the local business community and within the General Assembly to ensure passage” and to “protect local truck operators from repeated and unsustainable tolls.”
“This is not even close to the legislation passed in 2016, and our state’s leaders have an obligation to stop any version of it from being implemented,” the group’s letter read. “The program was originally meant to target interstate carriers, and now it’s all backfired. A deal is a deal.”
According to Maxwell, without the daily caps, 94% of the projected toll revenue will come from local businesses.
“State leaders continue to discuss creative ways to offset the uncapped burden on locals, but this ‘horse is out of the barn’ as clearly they have and will continue to run afoul of the law if they attempt to favor their own,” Maxwell said. “Reducing the toll rates has been discussed, but there’s still a 94% local burden, whatever way you slice it.” LL
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