Bridges Authority To Take Written, Transcribed Comments

The Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority will accept comments from the public Monday. The hearing comes as the authority is preparing to vote on an updated plan for paying for the bridges project.The updated plan calls for the project to be underway in August 2012. It also anticipates tolls on the bridges paying for roughly half of the project's $4.1 billion  cost.The public comments will likely be split between those who say the area needs the construction jobs the bridges will create, and those who oppose tolls and say the project is too expensive.Shawn Reilly with the group Say No To Bridge Tolls is among the latter."The reasonable solution for this project is to divide the project, build this in affordable phases, use the money we have currently existing, build what we can afford, then as more money becomes available, let's complete the rest of the project," he says.The authority has said it will not stray from the plan to build two new bridges and rework Spaghetti Junction as soon as possible. Some authority members will be present for the meeting Monday, but public comments will either be taken in writing or transcribed and presented to the authority.They will vote on the updated financial plan Thursday.