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Abramson, others endorse bill that could mean tolls

by Marcus Green
The Courier-Journal
Wenesday, January 30, 2008
Frankfort, Ky.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and leaders from northern Kentucky and Elizabethtown today endorsed a bill that could result in tolls financing the Ohio River Bridges Project and other large transportation ventures. Speaking to the Senate Transportation Committee, Abramson said other states have used portions of sales taxes, vehicle license taxes and other fees to help pay for large road projects. But tolls are becoming increasingly common, he said. “Over the last decade, I would remind the committee, 40 percent of the new major road miles built in America -- 40 percent -- have been built by tolls,” he said. Abramson’s remarks came after a U.S. Department of Transportation official told Kentucky lawmakers that federal funds may not be available for the bridges plan and other “megaprojects,” such as the Brent Spence Bridge replacement near Cincinnati. “I wouldn’t want to make a commitment as to when and exactly how federal highway dollars would be available,” said Robert DeHaan, the department’s deputy assistant secretary. “What I can tell is that nationwide we’re experiencing difficulty in meeting the obligations that we have on projects.” The discussion centered around Senate Bill 7, which would allow city and county governments to create authorities to manage local road projects and finance them using tolls, bonds and other methods and contract with private companies. Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, is the bill’s sponsor. Elizabethtown Mayor David Willmoth Jr. and Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore also spoke in favor of the bill. Louisville Metro Council members Kelly Downard and Glen Stuckel, both Republicans, attended the meeting and said they echoed Democrat Abramson’s support of the measure.

Opponents of the Ohio River Bridges Project question whether adding tolls will place an additional burden on drivers. Jackie Green, a spokesman for the Kentuckiana Transportation Action Partnership, which wants spending for the bridges project halted, called tolls "a regressive tax" that will deter drivers without giving them better public transportation options. "Those who can afford to pay those tolls are not going to think twice about it. Those who cannot afford to pay those tolls are going to get pinched," Green said.

(Information on Kentuckiana Transportation Action Partnership can be found at www.ktap.org.)