AASHTO Journal, 18 July 2014
Last December, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Mackinac Bridge Authority stalled scheduled toll hikes on the Mackinac Bridge due to department efficiencies—an announcement that was made again last week when the two entities announced they will forgo the scheduled toll increases “at least two more years.”
Officials said the bridge did not need the extra toll revenue it had planned to raise due to “improved financial projections and aggressive maintenance work extending the service life of the bridge.” The Mackinac Bridge, more than a half-century old, is maintained and operated through toll revenue.
“This postponement of toll increases is really a testament to the remarkable work the employees of the Authority have done in maintaining the bridge. The MBA has made the bridge operation as efficient as possible, reducing energy consumption, administrative costs, self-insurance, and expanded electronic tolling,” said MBA Board Chair William Gnodtke in a statement. “Those efficiencies, paired with increased revenues and an unrivaled maintenance program, put our operation on solid financial and structural footing.”
MBA voted last year to keep the 2014 toll rate at the 2012 level—a $4 toll for passenger vehicles. That rate will continue without an increase, at least until 2016, when MBA reexamines the situation.
Additional information on the Mackinac Bridge is available at MackinacBridge.org.
