Ohio River bridge tolls show increase in crossings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Numbers from the first quarter of the Ohio River Bridges Project show nearly 7 million motorists crossed the three tolled bridges over the Ohio River at Louisville between Jan. 1 and March 31.

The RiverLink report released Monday said the average weekday crossings on all three bridges in March totaled 89,000, a 12 percent increase since January. RiverLink spokesperson Mindy Peterson said the numbers are in line with projections and traffic is expected to continue growing in the coming months.

"We knew going into this that it takes some time to ramp up - for people to discover new routes, get used to tolling, make all of those adjustments," Peterson said.

It could take as long as five years for the bridges to reach their maximum usage Peterson said.

RiverLink said $8.6 million was collected in tolls during the first quarter of the year, split evenly between Indiana and Kentucky. Another $6.8 million is expected to be collected from E-ZPass transponders used in about 15 other states.

The tolls were first levied in December. Toll rates range from $2 to $12 depending on the size of the vehicle. Drivers with transponders pay the lowest tolls. The money is used to meet financial obligations of the project and for operation and maintenance.

The Ohio River Bridges Project, which revamped old bridges and built new ones along the Ohio River, cost $2.3 billion.