Rhode Island Weigh Stations & Ag Inspection

When Rhode Island makes you pull in

Rhode Island rarely lights a scale. Its fixed I-95 stations open only now and then, so enforcement leans on weigh-in-motion sensors, including the Providence Viaduct, plus State Police roving patrols. When a station is open and the sign directs trucks in, you pull in. A closed scale is not a free pass. The WIM cameras still weigh you and can mail an overweight ticket, which on I-95 has run about $650 (R.I. Gen. Laws Title 31).

Stations, bypass, and inspection

• Who must stop: Only when a sign directs
• Where the stations are: Fixed scales on I-95 (Richmond/Hopkinton southbound and northbound sites near the Connecticut line), rarely open. The state relies on weigh-in-motion sensors, including the I-95 Providence Viaduct, plus State Police roving patrols.
• Bypass: Limited. Rhode Island has few active fixed scales, so bypass matters less here. Coverage is thin; expect to obey the lit sign and weigh-in-motion screening rather than a transponder signal.
• Ag / border inspection: No agricultural inspection stations. Enforcement is size and weight only.
• Fine for passing an open station: $100 to $250 on conviction for failing or refusing to stop and submit the vehicle and load to weighing, or for refusing an officer's directions after the weighing (R.I. Gen. Laws §31-25-20). The overweight ticket is separate and is heard at the traffic tribunal: $125 per 500 lb over for a rig above 10,000 lb gross vehicle weight, plus $1,025 more over 104,800 lb and $2,500 more over 130,000 lb (§31-25-16(c)), with axle overages at $125 per 100 lb (§31-25-14(d)).

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