After delaying action on toll rates for the Ohio River Bridges Project last week, the bi-state committee in charge of setting rates will meet Wednesday morning to finish the job.
It was a surprise to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock last week, when Indiana officials said they weren’t ready to approve tolls.Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield said the delay shouldn’t be considered opposition to the suggested tolls rates, ranging from $1-$12 . It was just a matter of getting paperwork together, he said.Hancock was concerned though, and said Kentucky needs to set toll rates to find investors for its portion of the project’s cost.“As interest rates go up, obviously over a 35 year term of a financing deal, that amounts to serious money. Whether that’s millions, I’m quite sure it probably is,” he says.Tolls will be collected to help pay for new East End and downtown bridges and to reconfigure Spaghetti Junction. Tolling opponents argue it would cause a hardship for low income commuters and businesses in the region.A report released last month recommended toll rates that range between $1-$12 depending on vehicle size and mode of crossing, but officials say toll rates are subject to change as the project’s needs change.
