A Virginia company is close to securing a seven-year, $39-million contract to install and operate tolling systems for the Ohio River Bridges Project.The bi-state joint board for the project on Monday selected Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS as the preferred choice for installation of the electronic tolls that will be placed on the downtown and East End crossings, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Transportation.A review of financial and technical aspects of proposals resulted in Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS garnering the top-rated proposal to complete the project, said Will Wingfield, spokesman for INDOT. Four companies were considered for the job.“This is really the first of many steps,” Wingfield said.The selection is preliminary, Wingfield noted, meaning the Indiana Finance Authority Board must first approve the selection in a vote.If the finance board approves, a public hearing will be held before the contract is secured and Kapsch TrafficCom can begin work on installing the tolls, Wingfield said.He added that the public input period is “another opportunity for people to provide input specific to this aspect of the process.“They will have an opportunity to review the proposal, the draft contract and understand the reasons as to why the selection was made. This is the company that received the highest score, if for some reason we cannot make an agreement work with this company we can go with the next highest proposer.If formally selected, Kapsch TrafficCom will install and operate the toll systems and ensure that transportation officials can effectively operate the systems.“It’s an active involvement,” Wingfield said.Here is the schedule of events that will occur before the contract is finalized.
- Indiana Finance Authority Preliminary Approval 09/16/2014
- Indiana Finance Authority Public Hearing 09/29/2014
- Final Indiana Finance Authority Approval 10/16/2014
- Execution and Delivery of Contract 11/11/2014
