Prices are going up to cross the International Bridge that connects Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Public hearings are scheduled for a proposed toll increase there, which includes passenger vehicles rising to $2.50 per trip from $2.

The Joint International Bridge Authority announced a proposed toll rate increase that would go into effect April 1, 2009, if approved. The increase was announced Thursday, November 13. Public hearings on the matter are scheduled for next month in Michigan and Ontario.

The proposed increase was prompted by a review of a longrange financial plan that details the needs of the bridge for the next 30 years. Proposed toll increases (in U.S. dollars) include:

• Passenger vehicle tolls would increase from the current $2 per trip to $2.50 April 1, 2009, and to $3 April 1, 2010.

• Frequent user tolls (Prox card users) would increase from the current $1.40 per trip to $1.80 April 1, 2009, and to $2.10 April 1, 2010. These represent a 30% toll discount.

• Pulled trailers, per axle, would increase from the current $1 to $1.25 April 1, 2009, and to $1.50 April 1, 2010.

• Recreational vehicle tolls, per axle, would increase from the current $2 to $2.40 April 1, 2009, and to $2.75 April 1, 2010.

• Bus tolls, per axle, would increase from the current $3 to $3.50 April 1, 2009, and to $4 April 1, 2010.

• Commercial vehicle tolls, per axle, would increase from the current $3 to $3.50 April 1, 2009, and to $4 April 1, 2010.

Public hearings in early December will allow an opportunity to review and comment on the toll proposals. The hearings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, at the Holiday Inn at 208 St. Mary's River Drive in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 3, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel - Ojibway at 240 West Portage Avenue in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. A hearing is also set for 3 p.m. Thursday, December 4, at the Michigan Department of Transportation office at 3101 Technology Boulevard in Lansing.

In addition, written statements, faxes, and e-mails may be submitted to: Robert H. Parsons, public involvement and hearings officer, Bureau of Transportation Planning, Michigan Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909, e-mail at parsonsb@ michigan.gov, or fax (517) 373-9255. All written comments should be postmarked on or before December 18.

The long-range financial plan is based on recently completed engineering studies assessing projects needed to keep the bridge and plaza facilities structurally sound and operationally safe.

The operation and maintenance of the bridge is totally self-funded, based primarily on toll revenue, with no operational funding subsidy from state, provincial, or federal government sources.

Annual toll revenues currently average $6 million, of which $4.3 million goes toward annual operation and maintenance budgets.

Bridge traffic has dropped from the peak of 3.6 million annual crossings in 1992 to about 1.9 million crossings expected in 2008.

Currently, the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge has the secondlowest passenger vehicle toll rate of any of the 11 Michigan or New York crossings with Ontario. This proposal would place the passenger vehicle toll rate near the average toll rate among the crossings.

Information on the proposed toll rates is available for public review prior to the public hearings at the IBA Office, 934 Bridge Plaza, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, or by visiting the IBA Web site at: www.michi gan.gov/iba.