Bridge Costs Should Be Shared Statewide, Public Says
Toll Concerns Get Little Attention in Downstate Media
By Karen Gould

Seventy-five people attend the Mackinac Bridge public hearing on the proposed fare increase Tuesday, December 4, at Little Bear East Arena and Community Center in St. Ignace. Members of the Mackinac Bridge Authority listened as 17 residents took the microphone, offering their opinions. Fred Dandona (left, standing), owner of the St. Ignace KOA Campground, is concerned campers may not cross the bridge with the increase in the toll. Robert Parsons (standing), public involvement and hearings officer for the Bureau of Transportation Planning at the Michigan Department of Transportation, moderated the event.

Residents and truckers attending hearings on proposed Mackinac Bridge fare hikes last week told the Mackinac Bridge Authority that maintenance of the bridge should be on the shoulders of all of Michigan, not just local residents, travelers, and commercial shippers. Suggestions made in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City December 4 ranged from wanting no fare at all to postponing the fare hikes until alternative funding can be found. Local commercial haulers, who could see their tolls rise more than $100,000 a year, asked for discounted commuter rates to ease their burden.

Two days later, State Senator Jason Allen introduced legislation to use $5 million of the state's federal highway repair budget on the bridge.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority proposed two plans, both of which would raise tolls for cars, trucks, and busses. One would raise automobile tolls from $2.50 to $4 on January 1, the other to $3, with a later hike to $4. The announcement that major bridge work funding was in crisis came the day after the Authority celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first car to cross the bridge.

The Mackinac Bridge, residents said, is a state asset, is important to state commerce, and is a five-mile stretch of I-75, a federal highway. At the hearings, residents asked the Mackinac Bridge Authority to seek state and federal funding to help defray maintenance costs and keep the toll low or eliminate it completely. The proposed toll increase, say residents, will negatively impact tourism in the Upper Peninsula and hurt the economy of northern Michigan.

Several groups are pushing for a gradual increase of the tolls through 2013, including the cities of St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and Chambers of Commerce and Visitors Bureaus from St. Ignace, Les Cheneaux, Sault Ste. Marie, and DeTour Village/ Drummond Island.

"We understand this bridge needs to be maintained," said St. Ignace City Manager Eric Dodson, "but as Michigan's icon, Michigan's icon needs to be supported by all of Michigan's people, from Sault Ste. Marie to Detroit to Grand Rapids to all of the folks traversing Michigan on their tourism ventures across our beautiful state."

Attending the hearings in St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, and Lansing were 135 people, 75 at St. Ignace, 48 at Mackinaw City, and 12 at Lansing. Of those, 38 people voiced opinions, although several hundred letters have been received on the matter, bridge officials said.

Former State Senator Walt North, who was executive secretary at the bridge from 1983 to 1992, recalled legislation introduced in 2003 by former State Representative Scott Shackleton and State Senator Jason Allen during the last bridge fare increase proposal. The bridge roadway upkeep, said Mr. North, is included in funds the federal government sends to the state each year for maintenance of the interstate highway system, and the legislation sought to earmark more than $5 million of those funds for the bridge.

"If that $5 million plus was coming into the Bridge Authority," Mr. North said, "no increase in tolls would be necessary."

The funding was approved by the legislature that year, but Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed it.

The legislation introduced last Thursday by Senator Allen is a similar bill, seeking no less than $5.25 million annually to be earmarked for capital improvements on the bridge. The bill proposes the funding start with the state's fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008.

Since its introduction last week, Senate Bill 981 has been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Tourism, which is chaired by Senator Allen. The bill is expected to be brought before the full Senate by Thursday, December 13, Joe Agostinelli, a legislative aide for Senator Allen, told The St. Ignace News December 8.

"It's time for the state to play a greater role," said Senator Allen in a prepared statement, "and become a partner in preserving and maintaining the bridge."

Bridge Authority Chairman Bill Gnodtke told The St. Ignace News that such funding, if approved, would not be available until next year.

"We can't wait," he said. "If it comes, we can always adjust the toll."

Commercial haulers asked during the public hearings for a commuter rate for the trucking industry. The Authority offers a commuter discount to passenger vehicles, although it has yet to say who will be eligible for such a discount after January 1.

Tom Barnes, executive director of the Michigan Association of Timbermen, spoke for companies that budget $85,000 to $168,000 each year for their trucks to cross the bridge. The proposed toll increase, he said, would cost each of those companies an additional $29,000 to $128,000 a year.

"We need to find other alternatives," said Mr. Barnes, who attended all three hearings. "Can there be a commuter rate for commercial traffic?"

The Bridge Authority is in the process of developing its definition of a commuter, said Mr. Gnodtke during the Mackinaw City meeting when asked about the commuter program by Steve Maniaci of Brutus. The Authority is researching commuter programs at other bridges. Some bridges define a commuter by a geographic area or by a usage rate, and others use a combination of both. The board, he said, will be discussing options to determine which will work best at the Mackinac Bridge before making a final decision about who qualifies for the discount.

Two rate increase options are being proposed by the Authority and were the subject of the hearings. Authority members now say a combination of the two proposals is likely to be adopted at a special board meeting December 21 in Detroit.

Proposal A would increase the bridge toll to $4 for a one-way crossing of a passenger vehicle. The plan is an immediate 60% increase in the toll. The commuter rate would increase by 50¢ to $2 per crossing, and the cost per axle for other vehicles would be raised from $3 to $5.

Proposal B offers an incremental rate hike, starting with a 20% increase in the toll, for a total of $3 for a one-way trip for a passenger vehicle. The commuter rate would remain unchanged and other vehicles would increase from $3 per axle to $4 per axle. By 2013, the crossing rate for a vehicle would rise to $4, the commuter rate would increase to $2, and $5 would be charged per axle for all other vehicles. The Bridge Authority would sell bonds to supplement the toll revenue needed for upcoming major bridge projects.

The gubernatorial appointees who serve on the Authority say they need to raise the toll to pay for a $40 million paint job for the north half of the bridge and a $200 million deck replacement being eyed for 2018. Without replacement, said bridge Executive Secretary Robert Sweeney, weight limits may have to be lowered.

A video about the bridge and need for repairs was shown to audiences at the hearing, although attendees never disputed the need for bridge maintenance, just who should pay for it.

At the hearing, The St. Ignace News publisher Wesley Maurer Jr. suggested that instead of a toll at the bridge, the state establish a tollway into Lansing, that, because of high traffic volume, could generate enough money to repair the bridge and other needed state highway projects. Any toll at the bridge, he said, deters motorists from coming to the Upper Peninsula and should be eliminated, and the toll was always intended to be eliminated once original financing was paid off.

"I think it is time the Mackinac Bridge Authority stop viewing itself as steward of a steel structure and begin thinking of itself as a steward of a vision to unite the state's two peninsulas as one and to bring vitality to northern Michigan and the U.P.," Mr. Maurer said.

During the Mackinaw City meeting, Jim Churchill, representing Michigan Wood Carriers of Vanderbilt, said their 11-axle trucks, which make three to six round trips across the bridge each day, are at maximum weight capacity for the bridge.

"Any discussion of load restrictions shakes me up pretty badly," he said. "We all agree we need the upkeep on the bridge."

"If you raise the fares, you are going to lose traffic," said Fred Dandona, owner of the St. Ignace KOA campground. Under the proposals, he said round-trip motor home passage over the bridge would range from $24 to $30 and would have a negative impact on the already struggling local economy.

Mackinac County resident Becky Simmons said the fare increase would be a financial burden for local families who need to cross the bridge for medical care or to watch children participate in sporting events.

"We feel it is very, very important that the bridge is safe," said Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault Ste. Marie Convention and Visitors Bureau, who requested more notice of toll hikes to allow tourism organizations to list correct fares in promotional materials.

Roger Srigley, an aide from Congressman Bart Stupak's Petoskey office, attended the St. Ignace hearing to hear what residents had to say about the proposed fare hike.

In Mackinaw City, commuters from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula told Authority members the toll increase would negatively impact their family budgets.

Shari Veller of Cheboygan said she works in St. Ignace. While she pays $780 a year to commute now, after the fare increase, tolls will cost her about $1,080 annually.

At the Lansing hearing, Norm Saari, chief of staff for Senator Allen, told the Authority about the newly introduced legislation.

Jennifer Benbow, a legislative aide for Representative Gary McDowell, offered a statement in which Mr. McDowell said, "My main concerns with the proposed toll increase are the adverse affects that it could have on tourism and on our working men and women who routinely cross the bridge, either for work or for services."

Rep. McDowell asked the Authority to seek federal funds for the bridge. If a toll increase is required, he supports Proposal B, which would "lessen the immediate effect on tourism, which is one of the most important industries for northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula."

The hearings in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City were attended by Mr. Gnodtke and Mr. Sweeney, Chief Engineer Kim Nowak, Chief Financial Officer Mike Litzner, and Bridge Service Manager Dean Steiner. Robert Parsons, public hearings officer with the Michigan Department of Transportation, monitored the hearings.

Downstate, with people preoccupied with Christmas and a dysfunctional legislature, the proposed fare increase received little or no attention. Despite the December 6 hearing planned in Lansing, the Lansing State Journal published only an eight-sentence Associated Press (AP) report, condensed from a Cheboygan Daily Tribune account of the St. Ignace hearing.

"Bridge officials say they need more money for essential maintenance work," the AP capsulized. Speakers at the hearing said the fare increase "would discourage people from making the crossing and hurt U.P. tourism."

Sunday, as if to follow-up, the newspaper announced the sale of 50th anniversary bridge celebration DVDs.

In promoting the merchandise, Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudle boasted, "The Mackinac Bridge is not only a Michigan landmark, it is a national icon we will continue to celebrate for years to come."

As for testimony on the fare hikes, the Bridge Authority is reviewing comments daily, said Mr. Gnodtke. All testimony and remarks, he said, would be reviewed by the board before a final decision is made on the toll rate.

That is expected at a special meeting Friday, December 21, at 10 a.m. in Detroit at Cadillac Place 3044 West Grand Boulevard, Room L500.

Transcripts from the hearings and all comments received by December 10 will be made available to the public December 19 at the St. Ignace Public Library, the Mackinac Bridge Authority administration office, and the Mackinaw Area Public Library in Mackinaw City.