What does everyone think about the Louisville bridge tolls?

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  • JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
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    10   0   0
    Dec 24, 2012
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    I'm surprised it's not more of a hot-button issue, especially since it seems like it's pretty stupid pricey to go over a bridge.

    We avoided it on our last trip south by using I-64, and I can't help but feel that it's going to backfire on them in terms of increased traffic on alternate routes and lower traffic to downtown hot spots. I jokingly said to my wife we should park at Kingfish and just walk over the 31 bridge to the Yum Center next time we go to a concert.

    New I-65 and I-265 bridges open, tolls for trucks cost $10-$12 | Overdrive - Owner Operators Trucking Magazine
     

    avboiler11

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    Jun 12, 2011
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    New Albany
    I don't like the toll pricing structure; 40 crossings in a month (20 round trips) is an awfully high threshold to get 'frequent user' pricing of $1 per crossing. I would greatly prefer the tolls to be a flat $1 if you have a transponder, or at least reduce the crossings required to get the discount from 40 to 20...reflecting "real life" where you have vacation, sick days, etc and aren't given a financial incentive to drive in circles to save money.

    39 crossings costing you $78 but a 40th crossing reducing your expense to $40 is simply asinine. Alas, the Tolling Body gave no foxtrots and neither does RiverLink.

    All that said...my wife and I have spent HOURS upon HOURS sitting in God-awful traffic crossing the damn river since Shermageddon a few years back. That is time wasted that we will never get back. As such, our time has a value, and while I don't like the pricing structure I'm just glad the stupid bridges FINALLY got built. $2 each way isn't going to stop me from going into Kentucky.

    As a plus, it has cut 10 minutes each way off a trip to Cabelas.
     

    indyjoe

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    May 20, 2008
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    I grew up in Jeffersonville and remember driving 30 minutes to get to the other side of the river. I also had an uncle die on the abomination that was Spaghetti junction, thanks to a drunk driver (who lived.)

    The bridge solution and rerouting of roads is much better. But it was an expensive project. I personally would not have a problem with the tolls, if it were to pay the cost of things and maintenance and no more. However, we know that won't be it.

    There is also talk of automated tickets based on license plate readers and timing on both sides. Combined with this is possibility of not allowing discounted ($2) tolls and upping you to $4 with tickets. That seems way too far. I hope that is just rumor and not fact. We shall see.

    I really think the tolls should have sliding scale of discounts rather than the stupid $78 -> $40 setup. But I understand exactly why they did it. More money. It is really dumb that you HAVE to cross the bridge and come back, or pay over $30 more. Makes you have to track your crossings if you are a common user, but not full time work user.

    I'm in the process of moving back down here, so I'm sure my toll use will go way up. Especially if pistol sales from other states finally clears and becomes law.
     

    Old Prof

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    Jul 8, 2015
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    West Lafayette
    15 years ago in the NYC area, if you weren't in the "commuter class" you paid $6, I believe, to go over the George Washington Bridge, and $3.00 to go over the Tappan Zee. You only paid going one way. Given inflation and a cheaper part of the country, these seem reasonable, but I will only go over them 10 times a year, or so. No dealing with massive construction for a while is nice, but I'm sure they'll figure out another way to tear up I-65 in a year or two.
     

    JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
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    Really curious to see how the plate camera, "mail you a bill" scheme works out. What happens to out of staters who don't realize what they've gotten and pitch it as junk mail?
     

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
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    Apr 27, 2011
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    Really curious to see how the plate camera, "mail you a bill" scheme works out. What happens to out of staters who don't realize what they've gotten and pitch it as junk mail?

    They have this in Florida by Destin. It worked OK for us. You can also go online on your own and pay it I think
     

    chipbennett

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    Oct 18, 2014
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    I so rarely drive to/through Louisville that it really isn't going to impact me much at all. If I were a local, I'd hate it.

    But, it sounds like the toll scheme is set up to make trucks bear more of the load (pun intended), which makes sense.
     

    printcraft

    INGO Clown
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    Feb 14, 2008
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    It beats swimming across

    ec88df8bf06b2614e8be6a723e6898bc.jpg
     

    jamil

    code ho
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    Jul 17, 2011
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    I live way west of New Albany so I take the Sherman Minton. So far it hasn't been much busier. I feel fortunate because most days I can work from home. And I can come in late or leave early if traffic patterns are really bad. That's what I did during Shermagheddon. I went in at 9:30AM or so and left at 3PM just to maintain core hours, and worked the rest from home.

    I have to say that in the month or so that everything's been done, I've not had to stop once. Before, with spaghetti junction, my trip home was an hour to 1.5 hours, most of it sitting on a slow moving parking lot. So the rerouting fixed the bottleneck.

    About price, It seems ridiculous to pay that much just to cross a damn river. Something that kinda mitigates that at least a little is the fact that it's not just adding new bridges. They completely replaced all the roads formerly belonging to spaghetti junction, including all the overpasses, and some side streets. The whole project was something near $1 Billion. It's a quality job from what I've experienced, but it's expensive.

    I don't like the toll pricing structure; 40 crossings in a month (20 round trips) is an awfully high threshold to get 'frequent user' pricing of $1 per crossing. I would greatly prefer the tolls to be a flat $1 if you have a transponder, or at least reduce the crossings required to get the discount from 40 to 20...reflecting "real life" where you have vacation, sick days, etc and aren't given a financial incentive to drive in circles to save money.

    39 crossings costing you $78 but a 40th crossing reducing your expense to $40 is simply asinine. Alas, the Tolling Body gave no foxtrots and neither does RiverLink.

    All that said...my wife and I have spent HOURS upon HOURS sitting in God-awful traffic crossing the damn river since Shermageddon a few years back. That is time wasted that we will never get back. As such, our time has a value, and while I don't like the pricing structure I'm just glad the stupid bridges FINALLY got built. $2 each way isn't going to stop me from going into Kentucky.

    As a plus, it has cut 10 minutes each way off a trip to Cabelas.

    My trip home each night is now typically 40 minutes, thanks to fixing spaghetti junction. No more slow moving parking lots.

    I also think the break they give you for 40 crossings is ridiculous. I'd like to see it more graduated so people who are frequent crossers can get at least some break. 20 two way crossings per month may be hard to do some months. In february people might have to make extra trips just to get the discount.

    I grew up in Jeffersonville and remember driving 30 minutes to get to the other side of the river. I also had an uncle die on the abomination that was Spaghetti junction, thanks to a drunk driver (who lived.)

    The bridge solution and rerouting of roads is much better. But it was an expensive project. I personally would not have a problem with the tolls, if it were to pay the cost of things and maintenance and no more. However, we know that won't be it.

    There is also talk of automated tickets based on license plate readers and timing on both sides. Combined with this is possibility of not allowing discounted ($2) tolls and upping you to $4 with tickets. That seems way too far. I hope that is just rumor and not fact. We shall see.

    I really think the tolls should have sliding scale of discounts rather than the stupid $78 -> $40 setup. But I understand exactly why they did it. More money. It is really dumb that you HAVE to cross the bridge and come back, or pay over $30 more. Makes you have to track your crossings if you are a common user, but not full time work user.

    I'm in the process of moving back down here, so I'm sure my toll use will go way up. Especially if pistol sales from other states finally clears and becomes law.

    They addressed the automated speeding tickets on the news. The RiverLink representative said they aren't a law enforcement agency. It can only be used for billing. Both states would have to pass laws to force RiverLink to use it that way.

    So what if, as suggested earlier, you have a cooler in the way? Indiana and many other states don't mandate front license plates.

    Covering up your license plate is against the law. They said that anyone who tries to cover up, they'll turn you in if they can figure out who it is.
     

    caverjamie

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    Oct 24, 2010
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    18
    Dubois Co.
    I believe the 2nd street bridge does not have a toll, and of course the big four pedestrian bridge! We rode our bikes into downtown Louisville from Jeffersonville across the big four when it was warmer. We normally cross on I-64 so the current tolls will not affect us.

    I thought about how funny it would be to have some kind of motorized cover to hide your license plate from the cameras....then I read about the guy that actually did that, and got caught and charged with felony cheating (seriously). Whoops.
     

    jamil

    code ho
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    0   0   0
    Jul 17, 2011
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    Gtown-ish
    I believe the 2nd street bridge does not have a toll, and of course the big four pedestrian bridge! We rode our bikes into downtown Louisville from Jeffersonville across the big four when it was warmer. We normally cross on I-64 so the current tolls will not affect us.

    I thought about how funny it would be to have some kind of motorized cover to hide your license plate from the cameras....then I read about the guy that actually did that, and got caught and charged with felony cheating (seriously). Whoops.

    They showed those on local news and said if their photo reveals you have one, they'll try to figure out who you are and prosecute you.
     

    actaeon277

    Grandmaster
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    4   0   0
    Nov 20, 2011
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    Merrillville
    I am against all tolls.
    There should not be hiding taxes that way.
    There should be 1 Federal tax, 1 State, and 1 local/county tax.
    And they shouldn't be taken out of paychecks automatically. People should have to pay them each month, that way they can see what they are REALLY paying.

    Tolls, fees, licenses, etc are just ways to hide how much you're paying.
     
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