Andrea Medeiros
amedeiros@abc6.com
As drivers wait for the new Sakonnet River Bridge to open up this August, one local business has gone to great lengths to avoid its tolls. She spent thousands to relocate.
We've heard about the petitions and even a Facebook page against tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge, but one shop owner packed up her store in Portsmouth and moved it across the river to Tiverton.
Nancy Swing is starting over and leaving all her customers behind, all to avoid tolls.
"Would you spend eight dollars to buy a two dollar rock, no," said Swing.
Her mineral science store's customers are from all over, and Swing's concern was a lot of them wouldn't pay the four dollars each way to get on the island to buy from her.
"Even with a transponder, people are going to struggle," said Swing, "They say oh it's only 83 cents to cross over. That's 40 dollars a month. That's another bill."
It would have been another bill for Swing too. She lives in Tiverton, so she spent thousands and lost weeks of business to relocate her five year old store closer to home.
Loyal customer and Tiverton resident Bill White is happy about it but said he would have paid the extra cash.
"Because I like the store," said White, "I also buy groceries over there, and I pay the toll for that because we don't have a store like that."
Others confirmed Swing's fear, once the tolls go up next summer they'll be avoiding them at all costs.
"I'll go around it," said one shopper, "I think just not to give it the benefit of the doubt."
"We won't pay that toll," said another shopper, "We'll go up 103 and go over the Mount Hope Bridge."
More than 40–thousand cars pass over the Sakonnet River Bridge each day, more than both the Jamestown and Newport bridges. That's a lot of revenue for the state, which the DOT said is necessary to keep up the bridge.
