Governor Beshear and Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson met with Senate President David Williams today, urging him to help pass a bill to set up a tolling authority to fund the bridges in future years. Williams said "forget it" or something to that effect. The Senate President wants Beshear to say he supports tolls or some other definitive funding mechanism for the $4.1 billion bridges project. Beshear won't make that commitment saying only that there clearly won't be enough money to fully fund the bridges and other big projects. So, he says, all funding options must be on the table and the only way to do that is to set up a new authority to let local governments figure out how to get their projects done. The Senate budget includes more than $300 million for the bridges, enough to keep the design and engineering work on the bridges moving forward for two years. But the Senate plan cuts the planned funding for other Louisville road projects:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Louisville Commuters Directly Impacted by State Senate Transportation Budget Plan

Dropped $60 Million in Projects Looks Like a Top 10 List of Metro's Most Congested Interchanges

Louisville (March 26, 2008)-- The Kentucky Senate on Monday called for removing $60 million of Metro Louisville's federal highway funds for other projects to pump up the Louisville Bridges Project to previous funding levels.
This budget proposal means construction and maintenance funds for some of the area's most congested interchanges (including the funds necessary to complete the critical Watterson Expressway and Westport Road Interchange) would be eliminated to build the eastern bridge, delaying the downtown bridge.

The plan to put $325 million back into the bridges plan was approved Monday by the State Senate Transportation Committee and the Appropriations and Revenue Committee before receiving quick approval by the full Senate.
The Louisville congestion improvement projects that appear to have been dropped in the Senate budget plan, including the $27 million Watterson Expressway/Westport Road Interchange, are:

Reconstruction of the I-64/Hurstbourne Parkway interchange ($5.46 million right of way and utilities)

Improvements to the South Hurstbourne Parkway and Shelbyville Road interchange ($3.34 million for right of way, utilities, and construction)

Addition of a lane on the Watterson eastbound at Brownsboro Road to help congestion ($1.35 million for construction).

Addition of an auxiliary lane on I-64 westbound before the Watterson Interchange, ($2.83 million for utilities and construction)

Additional projects left without funding include:

Improvements to the Gene Snyder and Preston Hwy interchange ($2.59 million for construction)

Reconstruction of the Shawnee Expressway ramp to I-64 ($4.79 million for construction)

Cleaning and painting the Clark Memorial Bridge ($2.71 million)
Reconstruction of the Gene Snyder and US 60 Interchange ($480,000 in right of way and utilities)
Addition of auxiliary lanes on I-71 and improve the Zorn Ave. interchange ($2.2 million for right of way and utilities)
Reconstruction of the I-65 southbound ramp at Outer Loop ($1.55 million for construction)
Improvements to the Gene Snyder and LaGrange Rd. (KY 146) interchange ($2.53 million for construction)

Improvements to the I-64 and Blankenbaker Rd. interchange ($2.17 million for construction)