…
As an organization, the Clark and Floyd counties chamber of commerce group has endorsed utilizing tolls instead of tax increases to pay for the bridges project. But that didn’t inhibit [Clarksville Town Council President] Gilkey from asserting that tolls could create a barrier for Southern Indiana commerce.
“I have serious reservations about the impact of the tolls on local businesses,” Gilkey said Wednesday during 1si’s “Lunch with the Mayors” event at the Holiday Inn Lakeview in Clarksville.
While people may become accustomed to paying tolls after they have been implemented for several years, Gilkey said it could take a generation for that adaptation to occur.
…
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear signed a memorandum of agreement in March to finance the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project.
Under the plan, frequent commuters would pay a $1 fee each time they cross a toll bridge over the Ohio River. Cars and Sports Utility Vehicles would be assessed a $2 rate per trip, with a $5 toll for smaller trucks and $10 for semi-trucks.
Though authorization has not been received from the Federal Highway Administration, the Kennedy Bridge would be tolled under the plan. The Sherman Minton Bridge and the Clark Memorial Bridge would not be tolled.
However, there’s an assumption made in the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that when the Sherman Minton is required to be replaced, it too would be tolled.
Though the Sherman Minton wouldn’t require an immediate fee for passage if the plan comes to fruition, New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan said more commuters would loop around Southern Indiana to use the bridge creating infrastructure stress.
“It’s going to have a negative impact on the city of New Albany,” Gahan said.
…
