Super Bowl surprise: Sakonnet Bridge toll gantry comes down

Posted 2/8/16

PORTSMOUTH — While most of you were watching the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, a different sort of victory was quietly being celebrated on the Sakonnet River Bridge.

Workers from Aetna Bridge Company …

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Super Bowl surprise: Sakonnet Bridge toll gantry comes down

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — While most of you were watching the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, a different sort of victory was quietly being celebrated on the Sakonnet River Bridge.

Workers from Aetna Bridge Company dismantled the toll gantry on the Portsmouth side of the span late Sunday night while a handful of local legislators and other bridge toll opponents watched with glee.

They didn’t see the end of the big game, and they didn’t care.

“This is our Super Bowl right here,” said Jim Smith while standing on a grass embankment near the northbound lanes around 10:20 p.m. Sunday. In front of him, workers were busy taking down a second section of the gantry. “It could be the best Super Bowl going, but this is bigger than that.”

Also joining the party were three lawmakers who battled the tolling plan from day one: Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70 — Tiverton, Portsmouth), Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr. (D-Dist. 69 — Bristol, Portsmouth) and Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 11 — Warren, Bristol, Tiverton).

“This symbolizes the end of a long fight for Rep. Gallison, Sen. Felag and myself,” said Rep. Edwards. “The three of us have been fighting these tolls since 2009 and this ends for the three of us the saga of the tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge.”

Another prominent toll opponent who was on the bridge earlier that evening, John Vitkevich, weighed in on Facebook.

“The $4 (million) wasted on this toll should serve as a reminder that tolling is NOT an option in Rhode Island,” stated Mr. Vitkevich, who said he was the first one on the bridge — he lives in the Hummocks — after seeing yellow lights on Route 24.

Although the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority (RIBTA) ended its quest in June 2014 to collect a levy from drivers on the new bridge, opponents said they wouldn’t be fully satisfied until the gantry was removed.

“I want to see that gone,” Mr. Vitkevich told The Portsmouth Times in June 2014 as he pointed toward the gantry.

“People said, ‘You didn’t stop (the tolls) because the gantry is still up,’” said Rep. Gallison. “This is proof — we did it. We put together a good infrastructure plan — Wally in the Senate, Jay and I in the House — and this will prove to the citizens in this area that there are no tolls on this bridge. We said from the beginning that we would do everything we can to fight it, and we did. Look, there’s a crane. One gantry’s down now and the other one will be coming down shortly. It’s exciting.”

In an interview Monday, however, Mr. Vitkevich tempered his enthusiasm about the gantry’s demise.

“It’s great … but did they sell themselves out,” he said. “They took it away from us, but are they going to vote to approve the truck tolls? It’s not the end — taking down one gantry that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. What did we give up to have that taken down?”

'Window of opportunity'

Mr. Vitkevich also said he was “suspicious” of the work’s timing. “I want to learn when the paperwork went in … to take the gantry down,” he said.

So why was the gantry being dismantled on a Sunday night, during the Super Bowl?

“(RIBTA) is having the gantries taken down this evening because they have a window of opportunity,” said Rep. Edwards. “They were going to take them down sometime next week, but they have clear weather this evening and the weather gets bad for the next few days.”

RITBA also figured there would be less traffic during the Super Bowl, said Rep. Gallison. To accommodate the work, police blocked off two lanes of northbound traffic and one in the southbound direction.

“It all has to be done tonight,” said Rep. Gallison.

The sooner the better for Jeanne Smith, a member of Sakonnet Tolls Opposition Platform (STOP) who fought the tolls from the beginning.

“My rep texted me tonight and said, ‘It’s coming down. Meet me up here at 10 o’clock,’” said Ms. Smith, “This coming down is monumental to us.”

But what about the Super Bowl?

“We were watching it and it’s not a very good Super Bowl,” she said.

Bypassing the big game was also an easy choice for Sen. Felag.

“It’s one of those memorable occasions where you’re going to say, ‘Where were you on Super Bowl 50?’ And we’re going to say, ‘We were here, taking down the gantry,’” he said. “It’s phenomenal circumstances and we’re so proud that we worked collectively to get this done.”

Rep. John Edwards, Rep. Raymond Gallison, RITBA, Sakonnet River Bridge, Sakonnet River Bridge toll, Sen. Walter S. Felag

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