Rhode Island’s State Planning Council on Thursday approved a $10 billion blueprint for the next decade of transportation projects, even as questions linger over the availability of federal funding and the state’s ability to meet its own climate goals.
State officials must meet a Sept. 30 deadline to adopt the latest State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and send it to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for final approval or risk losing funding for future construction and rehabilitation projects.
“If y’all don’t approve this, starting Oct. 1, I can no longer approve reimbursements in Rhode Island,” warned Derek Torrey, Rhode Island administrator for the federal agency who sits on the council in an ex officio role.
The State Planning Council is tasked by federal law with adopting a new STIP at least every four years. The STIP must present a four-year program by year. Future projects are considered for informational purposes by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The project pipeline approved during the meeting held at the Department of Administration covers hundreds of projects for federal fiscal years 2026-2035, with 76% of capital spending being allocated toward the state’s roads and bridges. Notable projects include adding new lanes through the section of I-295 known as the “Cranston Canyon,” reconfiguring ramps near the state offices exit in Providence, and completing the reconstruction of the new Route 6/10 interchange.
Even the rebuild of the westbound Washington Bridge got listed as one of the notable line items in the draft STIP.
But just how many of those projects will remain fully funded over the course of the blueprint is unclear as spending authorized under the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is scheduled to sunset at the end of September 2026.
“We don’t know what comes next,” Torrey said. “We would all, I think, love it if the next transportation bill gives us more money, but we can’t plan for it. I certainly hope it comes in that direction.”
Meredith Brady, the council’s secretary and an associate director at the state’s Division of Planning, said she’s optimistic that Congress will reauthorize spending, despite “a new set of priorities coming out of Washington.”
“In the past when we’ve had a lot of political conflict, we’ve also had some extensions of the transportation authorization bill as it stands,” Brady said.
Short on state climate goals?
The STIP was approved by the council 19-1, with GrowSmart RI Executive Director Scott Wolf being the sole dissent.
Wolf commended the state for including “excellent individual projects” such as plans to replace bridges at Westerly’s Amtrak station starting in federal fiscal year 2029. But he called the overall project pipeline a “status quo roadmap” for Rhode Island’s future transportation priorities, noting that spending toward mass transit and bike infrastructure represents 12% of spending in the latest STIP.
“We need to move in a more transit and bike and ped-friendly direction,” Wolf said. “We need to reverse this serious underinvestment in non-car-centric transportation projects.”
The Division of Planning first made the draft plan public in late June and then held two public hearings in North Kingstown and Providence, along with two virtual sessions to gather feedback by July 30. Members of the public could also submit written comments online. Comments were compiled in a 255-page hearing report, many calling for greater investment in other modes of transportation.
“The advantages of alternative transit are well documented, including wellness, fitness, emotional health, reduced transit costs for riders, and reduced carbon emissions,” wrote Rep. Michelle McGaw, a Portsmouth Democrat.
Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat who sat in the audience of about a dozen people, most of them state employees, expressed concern that the lack of investment in alternative modes of transportation will hinder the state in meeting its Act on Climate goals.
That’s the law passed in 2021 requiring the state to develop a plan to reduce all climate emissions from transportation, buildings and heating, and electricity to 45% below 1990 levels by 2030, 80% below 1990 levels by 2040, and net-zero by 2050.
“If we’re not meeting those mandated benchmarks, we’re, as a state, liable,” she told the council. “People can sue us.”
The law allows citizens or organizations that believe the state is not upholding its responsibilities under the legislation to file suit in Rhode Island Superior Court starting in 2026.
Tasked with defending those lawsuits would be the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General. But Attorney General Peter Neronha hasn’t signed off on the latest project blueprint, according to a July 30 letter he sent to the council.
“As currently drafted, the STIP fails to take a forward-looking approach to achieving the State’s long-term goals, and falls far short of meaningfully furthering compliance with the Act on Climate,” Neronha wrote.
Brady said it’s not up to the council to set policy.
“We’re just slotting the funding that we have into specific projects,” she said in an interview after the meeting. “And there are a lot of projects in the out years that have the potential to positively impact our mode shift.”
Wolf wanted the council to amend the STIP to allow for additional investments, but his suggestion was quickly rejected by other members of the panel after Brady stressed the need to get the STIP approved by the Federal Highway Administration before its Sept. 30 deadline.
“First and foremost, we need to take action today,” she said.
Changes could always be made in the future, though they will require some sort of trade-off, Brady added.
“If you add a project, you need to remove a project or at least remove money from somewhere,” she said. “We can’t drop fiscal constraint.”
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
