Truckers Assessed $1 Million in Fines Over Weight-Restricted Bridge in R.I.

More than $1 million in fines have been assessed this year in Rhode Island against truckers for crossing the Pawtucket River Bridge on Interstate 95 that has a weight limit of 18 tons, an attorney for the state trucking association said.

The fines on the highway that is the main truck route along the East Coast now are as much as $5,000 per violation, following an increase that was approved in June by the state legislature.

Patrick Quinlan, staff counsel to the Rhode Island Trucking Association, said the weight-restricted bridge can be avoided by using Interstate 295, which bypasses the city of Providence to the north and west.

The 50-year-old bridge over the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, R.I., now used by 162,000 vehicles a day, has been restricted since an inspection found significant erosion in steel girders and damage to concrete parapets in the breakdown lanes. Bridge inspections were stepped up nationwide after the Interstate 35 bridge collapse last year in Minnesota that killed 12 people.