EDITORIAL

A better road ahead?

Posted

The Ocean State’s roads – and the agency tasked with overseeing them – are frequently a source of consternation for Rhode Islanders.

The emergency closure of the Park Avenue railroad bridge in Cranston over the summer highlighted the state’s dubious distinction of having some of the worst bridges in the country. But on a day-to-day basis, local commuters experience the broader extent of the problems we face – from seemingly endless construction projects to streets whose condition may best be compared to that of the crater-ridden lunar surface.

Understandably, it has become common to question just how tax dollars are being spent, and how the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) goes about its work. Now, Gov. Gina Raimondo is saying the answer to both those queries is, essentially, “very poorly” – and last week she outlined a number of steps she says will help rectify the situation.

The governor and her new transportation director, Pete Alviti – a former Cranston public works chief and union official – addressed the media regarding what they say is the most sweeping reorganization in the history of RIDOT.

Raimondo was blunt in her assessment of the agency, saying, “I think it’s fair to say the Department of Transportation, which I inherited, was in many ways dysfunctional.” She went on to describe a “lack of accountability” and “a failure to utilize best practices,” and said she has “decided it’s time to change the way we do business … It’s time we fix it.”

Raimondo and Alviti said several steps have already been taken, mostly in terms of staffing reviews and changes and a look at the agency’s financial practices. But there are primary components to the broader plan for RIDOT.

First is the adoption of a project management system, in which oversight of individual projects will become the responsibility of individual managers at RIDOT. Incredibly, Rhode Island remains one of the few states nationally that does not utilize a project management structure for its transportation department, which leads to rampant confusion and inefficiency.

The second major shift would be to the establishment of an asset-management system, which Raimondo and Alviti said would result in more efficient spending by maintaining roads and bridges. Raimondo said presently, RIDOT finds itself “lurching from problem to problem.”

“We fix what’s about to fall down, which is incredibly expensive,” she said.

Alviti said the switch to an asset-management approach alone could save taxpayers more than $1 billion in construction costs over a decade.

The third aspect of the plan is also the most uncertain. Raimondo and Alviti cited the state’s reliance on federal money for its transportation infrastructure work, and made a new call for lawmakers to support the proposed RhodeWorks initiative – which would borrow hundreds of millions for road and bridge repairs, and pay off that money and the interest through new tolls on large trucks.

The Senate has approved the plan, but the House of Representatives has not, and Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has said a fall special session at which the proposal would be addressed grows less likely each day. The governor said an economic-impact analysis of the RhodeWorks plan would likely be ready this week, which may alter the landscape.

We’re thrilled to see the governor and other state leaders acknowledging the problems at RIDOT, which have been well known for years but rarely addressed seriously or meaningfully. We’re also impressed with what the governor and the new transportation chief seem to have accomplished thus far, and what they are proposing going forward.

Given how deeply entrenched the problems seem to be, it is wise to view the situation with tempered expectations, if not a degree of outright skepticism. But the conversation, at least, is being had, and concrete steps are being taken. Let’s keep that momentum going. Rhode Islanders deserve safe roadways, and to know their tax dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently.

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