A federal court has changed the fate of Rhode Island’s RhodeWorks toll program. The state can once again run tolling programs that exclusively target Class 8 tractor-trailers.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that RhodeWorks was only unconstitutional for its toll cap and that the overall toll system could remain in place. The appeals decision is a significant departure from a 2022 federal court ruling that argued both the toll cap and targeting of tractor-trailers were unconstitutional.
The finding re-empowers states to structure tolls that primarily target commercial carriers—though with less discrimination than RhodeWorks first practiced.
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What was RhodeWorks?
RhodeWorks was a tolling program signed into law in 2016. The program sought to collect tolls at gantry crossings across the state’s highways and bridges exclusively from Class 8 tractor-trailers. The toll was capped so that tractor-trailers could only face one toll per gantry crossing per day in each direction.
State lawmakers designed the RhodeWorks Act to fund Rhode Island’s transportation infrastructure without overburdening drivers of passenger vehicles. According to the U.S. Government Accounting Office, just one fully loaded five-axle tractor-trailer causes as much damage to pavement as 9,600 automobiles.
For years, several organizations have deemed Rhode Island’s bridges the worst in the country. The tolls brought the state roughly $40 million in annual funding.
After several years of legal disputes, a federal judge forced Rhode Island to suspend the program immediately in 2022, ruling that the toll system was unconstitutional. The legal battle has cost Rhode Island taxpayers more than $9 million, according to local media in 2023.
Carriers’ court battle with Rhode Island
The latest ruling is the second time the Appeals Court reversed the fate of a long legal battle between carriers and Rhode Island.
In 2018, the American Trucking Associations and three motor carriers sued Rhode Island in federal court over the toll program, arguing that it was unconstitutional and discriminated against interstate trucking companies.
“All of Rhode Island’s bridges and highways benefit from the use of those facilities and contribute to wear and tear on them,” the suit argued, “but the RhodeWorks tolls impose the costs of maintaining and repairing those facilities exclusively on the operators of the large trucks that are most likely to be engaging in interstate commerce.”
In early 2019, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the case should instead be handled in state court. ATA appealed the decision. At the end of 2019, the Appeals Court ruled that the case should move ahead in federal court.
In 2022, a federal judge ruled that the toll program was indeed unconstitutional by violating the Dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The judge found that targeting only combination tractor-trailers placed a greater burden on out-of-state vehicles, and the toll cap’s structure primarily benefited state-plated vehicles. The decision forced Rhode Island to immediately suspend RhodeWorks.
“Because RhodeWorks fails to fairly apportion its tolls among bridge users based on a fair approximation of their use of the bridges, was enacted with a discriminatory purpose, and is discriminatory in effect, the statute's tolling regime is unconstitutional under the dormant Commerce Clause,” the court ruled in 2022.
Rhode Island appealed the ruling, resulting in the latest decision by the Appeals Court. The court ruled that the only unconstitutional part of RhodeWorks was the toll cap’s structure: The state can resume using tolls that target heavy commercial vehicles.
Industry and state reactions
The Rhode Island Trucking Association cautioned lawmakers against reactivating the tolls without its caps.
“If Gov. McKee and the General Assembly are considering reactivating the tolls without those protective caps, they first need to consider whether they are willing to break the promise that was made to the local business community as a condition of passage of the legislation and be candid with Rhode Island residents that these increased costs will be reflected in the price of goods, nearly all of which reach them by truck,” Chris Maxwell, CEO of the Rhode Island Trucking Association, said in a statement.
ATA welcomed the unconstitutional part of the decision and is considering its next steps.
“We're pleased that the Court of Appeals agreed with us and the trial court that the RhodeWorks tolls unconstitutionally discriminated against interstate commerce and are reviewing the decision and considering next steps,” Richard Pianka, ATA’s chief legal officer and general counsel, said.
Rhode Island personnel, on the other hand, welcomed the constitutional part of the decision.
“Today, the First Circuit has held that with the exception of caps on tolls, RhodeWorks is constitutional,” state Attorney General Peter Neronha said on the day of the decision. “We have been confident that this will be the eventual outcome, and we are grateful for the First Circuit’s well-reasoned decision in this case.”
