By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Saying that the truck detours on Pawtucket River Bridge are wreaking havoc on the city’s infrastructure as well as its local economy, City Councilor Albert Vitali, Jr. thinks Pawtucket should get a share of the state revenue collected from the truckers’ fines.

To that end, the councilor at-large has requested help from the city’s legislative delegation in asking that money be returned to Pawtucket from the state’s general fund.
Since the Pawtucket River Bridge that carries the north and southbound lanes of I-195 was found to be structurally unsound in November of 2007, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation has imposed a detour and 18-ton weight restriction for large tractor trailer trucks. Truck drivers are urged to either seek alternative routes or be diverted over the adjacent Division Street bridge. Drivers of trucks with more than two axles and over the 18-ton weight limit that are caught using the Pawtucket River Bridge can be fined as much as $3,000 for the violations.
A previously published report showed that for the one-year period between November of 2007, when the weight limit went into effect, through November of 2008, approximately $2.4 million in fines was levied by the state for trucks violating the weight limits. The report also pointed out that whatever money is collected from the fines goes directly into the state’s general fund.
Vitali maintains that half of the amount collected from the fines on the Pawtucket River Bridge should come back to the city to pay for the extra wear and tear on the local roads involved in the detours. He noted that the city’s streets and bridges “are being abused on a daily basis” and that a planned replacement bridge appears to be at least several years away from  completion.
“I’m afraid that the taxpayers will be left with a monster bill to repair the damages done to the city’s infrastructure--a bill that the city cannot afford, especially today, with the shrinking aid to our city,” stated Vitali.
In addition, Vitali said he has been contacted by several business owners who blame the new traffic patterns involved in the detours and the poor road conditions for a loss of revenue. He added that he gets phone calls from residents “on a weekly basis” complaining about the noise and smell occurring around the clock from the tractor trailer trucks that are being forced through city streets by the bridge detour. “This is becoming a quality of life issue and a public safety issue,” the councilor stated.
Vitali noted that it would likely take a legislative action in order for any of the state money to flow back to Pawtucket. At the last City Council meeting, the council unanimously agreed with Vitali’s request that the entire Pawtucket delegation of senators and representatives be contacted about making such an action a priority. Vitali said he expects to hear some of their responses by the next City Council meeting on March 11.
Vitali pointed out that in recent months, the state police have stepped up the enforcement of the weight limit, and said the amount of money collected in fines has no doubt increased since the November 2008 report.  “We want to figure out a way that we can share that windfall,” he said.