PROVIDENCE – As the Division Street Bridge continues to be utilized by trucks detoured around the I-95 Pawtucket River Bridge, Rep. Mary Duffy Messier, a Democrat serving House District 62 in Pawtucket and East Providence, has introduced a bill that would bring money paid by ticketed truck drivers to Pawtucket.

Duffy Messier's bill would allocate funds from a restricted receipt account to be used for repairs and restoration to Pawtucket’s Division Street Bridge and other detour roads, according to a news release. The bill (2012-H 7160) additionally asks for inspections of the Division Street Bridge, which crosses the Pawtucket River and Taft Street, every six months instead of on a biennial basis. Any costs associated with the bridge inspection will also be paid from a receipt account, which would be made up of collected fees from Pawtucket River Bridge weight and axle restriction violations.

“With all of the traffic on Division Street, this is really for the safety of everyone,” said Duffy Messier. “That bridge was built in 1877 and it needs to be checked regularly. We must deal with the consequences of creating these detours. The state has collected millions of dollars in weight and axle restriction fees from the Pawtucket River Bridge, and I think it’s only right that the money flows back into the project somehow.”

Pawtucket City Council member Albert Vitali Jr. has long pleaded with Pawtucket's legislators in the General Assembly to help the city recoup some of the millions of dollars being collected in truck traffic fines.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the city-owned Division Street Bridge was reconstructed in 1985 and remains functionally obsolete, or not built to standards used today. Although it is not considered inherently unsafe, Duffy Messier said it is imperative that more frequent inspections occur in light of the increase in traffic and heavier loads crossing the bridge.

Co-sponsoring the legislation are Representatives Raymond Johnston Jr., a Democrat serving District 61 Pawtucket, Roberto DaSilva, a Democrat serving District 63, East Providence and Pawtucket, William San Bento Jr., a Democrat serving District 58, Pawtucket and North Providence, and Elaine Coderre, a Democrat serving District 60, Pawtucket. The bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee.