First day of tolling sees light traffic on Ohio River bridges to Louisville

Traffic has yet to fall into a predictable pattern as less cars crossed the bridges Friday due to the holiday weekend and drivers are still figuring out which bridges to take. 

Over 52,000 vehicles crossed the tolled Lincoln, Kennedy and Lewis and Clark bridges between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, 40 percent of which had mounted transponders. That’s about on par with what Mindy Peterson, a RiverLink spokesperson, expected from the first day of tolling, although she was excited about the number of drivers who had transponders. 

The electronic tolling system did not malfunction and drivers did not slow down to pay at nonexistent toll booths either on Friday — perhaps because of repeated warnings from RiverLink officials. 

Eric Barnett, a Jeffersonville resident who works in Louisville, crossed a tolled bridge Friday for the first time and noticed little different about his daily commute. 

“There were fewer cars than normal,” he said in an email. “I have been taking it all week. It seems when tolling started, fewer people decided to take the new route.” 

That might be true, but Peterson said the approaching new year also had an effect on the number of crossings recorded on the bridge. 

About 110,000 drivers are expected to use the three tolled bridges on a daily basis after traffic settles, she said. RiverLink will have a better idea on Tuesday whether their predictions are accurate or not. 

The untolled Sherman Minton and Clark Memorial bridges also experienced light traffic on Friday. 

Traffic flow was not out of the ordinary near them — even during rush hour, said a supervisor with TRIMARC, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet project that monitors Louisville’s interstate traffic. 

There were no abnormal delays on the Indiana interstates either, said Wingfield.

Traffic is eventually expected to increase by about 40 percent on the Sherman Minton and 20 percent on the Clark Memorial Bridge, according to RiverLink’s website. 

New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey and three other officers monitored traffic, specifically on Spring Street, early Friday morning. They also noticed nothing different, although Bailey said officers will continue to monitor the situation over the next several days. 

Jeffersonville police did not deploy any more traffic officers than usual on Friday and also encountered no problems, said Michael McVoy, an assistant chief for the department, who was contacted by the News and Tribune Friday morning.  

It was the RiverLink customer service centers and phone lines that saw the real action Friday. Procrastinators were opening accounts to receive reduced rates on tolls. 

Aaron Johnson, an Indiana resident, visited the Jeffersonville customer service center at 7 a.m., but left when he realized it was a two hour wait to open his account. He was hopeful when he returned around 4:30 p.m. 

“I was optimistic that it wasn’t [going to be a long wait], but it was a long wait,” he said.

It took him an hour to make it through the line. 

That was a typical story for those who visited the Jeffersonville customer service center at 103 Quartermaster Court, despite the location having extra staff. The wait peaked there at about three hours, Peterson said, whereas the longest wait at the Louisville center was about 45 minutes. 

Those who called RiverLink to open an account were also met with requests for patience. The fastest option was to register an account online, Peterson said. 

RiverLink customer service locations will be open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday despite the holiday, Peterson said. 

As of Thursday, 150,000 RiverLink accounts had been opened. Those accounts allow drivers in passenger vehicles to pay only $2 to cross the bridge instead of $4. 

The beginning of tolling also brought out complaints from drivers on social media upset about the tolls in general. That wasn’t surprising to Peterson. 

“I know that tolling is a very hard concept for people,” she said. “They don’t want to embrace it, and I don’t blame them.”

But without the extra expense brought on by tolls, drivers wouldn’t be able to enjoy the new Lewis and Clark and Lincoln bridges or the improved Kennedy. 

“Without tolling, this would not have happened,” she said. 

The tolls will pay back the new and improved bridges construction and renovation costs. 

Barnett isn’t upset about paying his twice daily toll, but he is about other aspects of the situation — the companies chosen to handle the tolls, for example. And how much the tolls cost. 

“The tolls should be cheaper for residents,” he said. “Also, the 40 trips per month discount is a joke. The amount should be lower in order to receive a discount.” 

That was a reference to the frequent commuter discount, where those who cross the tolled bridges 40 times in a calendar month receive half their money back. 

Barnett has yet to check his account to see the tolls he was charged on Friday. He might not spot them either. It can take 24 hours for a toll to show up on account for those with local transponders and 48 hours to show up on the accounts of EZ-Pass holders. (EZ-Passes cost $15 at first, but can be transferred from vehicle to vehicle and are usable in 15 other states). 

Barnett will be monitoring his RiverLink account, however. He wants to make sure there are no inconsistencies in his charges.