Nasty toll hikes proposed for Nice Bridge
One of Maryland's toll facilities didn't make the cut in Friday's Sun coverage of the steep proposed toll increases by the Maryland Transportation Authority: the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in Southern Maryland.
The 70-year-old bridge, which carries U.S. 301 over the Potomac River between Charles County and Virginia, now has a basic toll for two-axle vehicles of $3, collected in one direction only. The staff of the authority had suggested raising the toll to $4 in October and $6 in 2013.
There was some discussion at Thursday's meeting of the authority's Finance Committee whether the Nice Bridge toll increase should bring it to eventual equivalency with the Bay Bridge, for which an increase to $8 in 2013 was proposed. Members noted that the narrow, antiquated Nice Bridge is likely to need a full replacement in the coming years.
Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley said she has heard from Southern Maryland elected officials that they aren't concerned about the amount of the toll as long as the state gets the replacement done.
While Baltimoreans can easily live out their lives without ever crossing the Nice Bridge, for residents of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's county it is the main link to the South. Without it, they would have to travel north to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to go south.
The bridge is an active commuter route between Charles County and King George County, Va., and is used by many workers at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Calvert County and the Patuxent Naval Air Station in St. Mary's County. The proposed commuter rates would go from 60 cents to $1.20 in October and $2.10 in 2013.
