By MATT THACKER
Matt.Thacker@newsandtribune.com
> SOUTHERN INDIANA —
The Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority adopted strategic objectives at its public meeting in Jeffersonville on Thursday while rejecting calls to alter the Ohio River Bridges Project to avoid possible tolling.
The objectives are to build the Bridges Authority into an effective, long-term project sponsor, execute a fair, sound and doable financial plan, manage risk to realize long-term project benefits and deliver on all expected project benefits.
Joe Reagan, bi-state authority member, said those objectives will provide a “clear focus” that has been missing.
“By adopting these objectives, we move closer to fulfilling our mission, which is to deliver the Ohio River Bridges Project and to do so as quickly as possible,” said Steve Schultz, executive director of the authority.
Schultz said some have suggested they look at the Mississippi Bridge Project in St. Louis, as an example of a scaled-back project. He said he discussed the example with federal highway officials and rejected it as a alternative for Louisville.
“We think it’s a nonstarter in our case,” Schultz said.
He also said officials in the St. Louis project determined funding was not available for the full project, which called for two parallel bridges, while a recent report showed funding is available for the $4.1 billion Ohio River project. He said for them to fulfill their mandate they must build an east-end bridge, downtown bridge and improve Spaghetti Junction.
Schultz said that if they divide the project they will have to wait five years between finishing one phase and starting the next.
Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan opened the meeting and offered his support for the project and encouraged the authority to move forward quickly.
“We do need this very badly,” Galligan said. “We need to focus on getting the job done.”
As the authority awaits to hear whether they will receive the $135 million grant from TIGER II, they face a tight deadline to present a financial plan. If the TIGER II grant is given, they could use the funds to support a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan to fund up to one-third of the project costs.
“We have one mission and that is to get this project done as soon as possible,” Reagan said. “By Dec. 31, we will have a financial plan in place that will be fair, sound and doable.”
Shawn Reilly, co-founder of Say No To Bridge Tolls, said tolls would be the largest tax increase to ever hit the Louisville area. At the last bi-state authority meeting, scenarios presented to the authority discussed tolls ranging from 50 cents to $3.
“Forcing tolls on this community is going to be an epic mistake,” he said. “The most reasonable way to fund this project is to build in phases.”
Reagan said the bridges project is the biggest economic project in the region and is necessary for financial growth and safety of drivers.
“Unless somebody can find free money out there, then we’re going to have to find funding. I’m not going to wait on that,” Reagan said.
Encouraged by a New Albany City Council resolution opposing tolls to fund the bridges project and belief that Louisville Metro Council will soon pass a similar resolution, more than a dozen opponents of tolls carried signs and cheered as some speakers criticized the toll during the public comments section of the meeting.
Paul Fetter, sales manager for Clark County Auto Auction, said his business would be “devastated” by tolls. He said 90 percent of their business is in Louisville, and he estimates that $3 tolls on the Kennedy Bridge would cost them more than $70,000 a year not counting loss in sales if customers do not want to cross the bridge.
Although the 13 speakers were primarily anti-toll or anti-bridges project, not everyone was. Chuck Moore, president of Eagle Steel, said his drivers have at least a dozen “near misses” each day in which others motorists cut them off and almost cause an accident.
“We must build the bridges, and if we have to, we will pay the tolls,” he said.
A couple of speakers argued that the authority members were spending too much effort trying to promote their project rather than listen to other ideas.
“Your mission is not to try to sell the Ohio River Bridges Project,” said Jackie Green, who is running for mayor of Louisville as an independent.
The authority also formed three committees: oversight, outreach and finance and construction planning.
Ed Crooks of KPMG, the authority’s strategic advisor, presented research about no-stop electronic tolling. He said the advantages over coin tolling are improved safety because vehicles are not stopping, reduced emissions and less delay. The concerns are how to enforce “toll evaders” and that poor weather could affect cameras used to identify license plates. He said the non-collection rate nationwide is six percent, although detractors questioned that figure pointing to states with very poor collection rates.
The next meeting will be Oct. 7 at a yet-to-be-determined location. There will be no more public comment at business meetings, but several meetings devoted entirely to public comment will be scheduled later this year.
