The toll for smaller passenger vehicles was set for $3.14 per one-way crossing over the future I-69 Bridge during the first meeting of the ORX Tolling Body Tuesday.
There are stipulations in the costs, though. For example, to pay the $3.14 one-way charge, a smaller vehicle must have a transponder, which is a small electronic device that is placed within a car, and the vehicle owner must hold a prepaid account that is in good standing, said Mindy Peterson, spokesperson for I-69 Ohio River Crossing.
Other payment methods, including a prepaid account without a transponder or pay by mail/pay by plate, would cause a cost increase.
The toll was set based on the rates commuters are paying to drive bridges that are a part of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, and the rates approved Tuesday are what is expected, keeping inflation in mind, when tolling commences after the bridge is completed in 2031, Peterson said. She said tolling is scheduled to be Jan. 1, 2032.
Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider, who was in attendance to watch the meeting, said that the toll is understandable based on the toll rates in place in Louisville.
But he added that Bridgelink, a group made up of both Indiana and Kentucky representatives who advocate for keeping both of the Twin Bridges open, is as determined as ever to do just that so that local people can have a choice in their daily commute.
Peterson said that—despite the toll—many commuters in the Louisville area prefer the new bridges in place there because they are safer and drivers get home or to work faster.
Another piece of the future Henderson-Evansville commute is that Twin Bridges section of U.S. 41 recently has been removed from the National Truck Network, and the Twin Bridges and pieces north and south of them will have different names—Kentucky Route 2341 and Indiana Route 141—while the corresponding current U.S. 41 section will run concurrently with I-69.
That could allow lower weight limits to be imposed on the southbound bridge, which could keep heavy trucks off it, add years of life to it and even allow it remain open after the I-69 bridge is completed, according to a past Hendersonian article.
Peterson said no discussions about the southbound Twin Bridge will occur until after the I-69 bridge is constructed.
Other tolls approved Tuesday were $7.79 per crossing for medium two-, three- and four-axle vehicles with a transponder and prepaid account in good standing. And large five-axle vehicles with a transponder and prepaid account in good standing will pay $15.49 per crossing. (See graphic for other rates)
Officials at the meeting said that having a toll in place is a precursor for going after loans from the federal government. The Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority is overseeing the financing of the project, of which a piece of the funding includes securing a loan from under the federal program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, according to officials at the meeting.
Having a tolling price in place allows officials to determine the amount of the loan, which will be one piece of the funding need to complete the more-than-$900 million project.
ORX officials said that the TIFIA loan is anticipated to be around $350 million.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray, who is chair of the ORX Tolling Body, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the state currently has $150 million ready to dedicate to the project. That funding must be approved by the General Assembly, he said.
In addition to Kentucky’s funding and a TIFIA loan, the project will depend on federal allocations, federal GARVEE bonds and state funding from Indiana, officials said.
Awarding of the construction of the project is scheduled to occur on Oct. 15, with construction set to begin in early 2027.
According to Peterson, the ORX Tolling Body is comprised of the chairman of the KPTIA, a person designated by the chairman, the secretary of KYTC, the commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, and a person designated by the commissioner of INDOT. Since Sec. Jim Gray is KPTIA chairman, another designee is named, Peterson said. The Tolling Body is responsible for developing tolling policies, including toll rates and business rules.
Members of the ORX Tolling Body are:
- Jim Gray | KYTC Secretary and KPTIA Chair
- Geri Grigsby | Designated for KPTIA Chair (Deputy Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet)
- Jack Whitfield | KPTIA Chair Designee (Hopkins County Judge Executive)
- Lyndsay Quist | INDOT Commissioner
- Clark Parker | INDOT Commissioner Designee (INDOT Deputy Commissioner of Operations)
