Sakonnet Bridge Toll Protest Planned for Sunday

Toll protesters will gather this Sunday on the Sakonnet River Bridge, hours before the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority begins collecting a 10-cent toll, reports The Portsmouth Times. 

Protesters will begin to gather around 6 p.m. outside the cement block building on the Portsmouth side of the Sakonnet River Bridge, near the new bike path. How long the protesters plan to stay or "occupy" the bridge is anyone's guess. 

The RITBA will begin collecting the 10-cent toll at midnight on Monday, Aug. 19. Many residents are planning on boycotting the toll entirely by removing their E-ZPass transponder from their vehicle. 

At the end of the last legislative session, lawmakers made an eleventh hour vote to impose a 10-cent toll on the Sakonnet River Bridge. Tolls are only collected currently on the Newport "Pell" Bridge. 

While the 10-cent toll on the Sakonnet River Bridge, which spans Portsmouth and Tiverton, is slated to begin on Aug. 19, the RITBA previously stated the state will lose millions as a result of the decision to delay the original toll rate. 

What do you think about this protest on the Sakonnet River Bridge? Do you plan to attend? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.