
The State Traffic Commission has denied Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s recent request to ban commercial trucks on secondary roads.
The STC reviewed and denied the request on Thursday, August 17th.
RIDOT claimed that the request was made as a way to prevent trucks from driving through residential areas. However, there was speculation that RIDOT requested the ban as a way to force truckers into using new truck-only toll roads, which will begin collecting tolls from truckers later this year.
House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan criticized RIDOT’s request, saying that RIDOT had no data prepared and had not even sought the opinion of the locals whose community they were trying to preserve.
“This intended action by RIDOT is a signal to every trucker that Rhode Island is a hostile environment, not just for trucks but also for business,” Morgan said.
“Ninety percent of our goods are carried by the kind of trucks they [RIDOT] wish to harass,” she added.