R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-12-40A
All powers, control, and jurisdiction of and title to the Mount Hope Bridge is hereby affirmed as having vested in the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority as of June 1, 1964, and the transfer of funds to the authority by the trustee under the trust indenture securing the Mount Hope Bridge revenue bonds is hereby ratified and affirmed. The authority shall continue to charge and collect tolls for the use of the Mount Hope Bridge to provide funds sufficient with any other monies available therefor for paying the costs of maintaining, repairing, and operating the bridge, and in any event tolls for the use of the Mount Hope Bridge shall continue until a fund shall be provided for the payment of engineering, financing, and legal services in connection with the financing and construction of the Newport Bridge. The power and right of the authority to collect and to use tolls collected for the use of the Mount Hope Bridge subsequent to June 1, 1964 for the purpose of payment of engineering, financial, and legal services in connection with the financing and construction of the Newport Bridge in an amount heretofore expended not in excess of six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) is hereby ratified and affirmed.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-12-40A