The Lights Will Go Out

Imagine the hootin’ and hollerin’ the first toll-free day on the bridge.  The toll plazas are still up so twelve lanes of traffic are still metering into four without much change. By noon, the public is all atwitter that they were right, that the Crescent City Connection can operate just fine without tolls, thank you very much. 

But, in fact, the day after the tolls come off is going to look pretty much like the day before. For one thing, the fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30, 2013.  That is the soonest any services will stop.

Fast-forward six months

It’s the first day of July.  You’re coming home from work. Something is different. You’re almost to the bridge but you can’t see it. Then you’re on the bridge – except it’s as dark as a country road. What happened?

The bridge has gone dark, that’s what. Nobody mentioned this alarming side effect. But in fact, the bridge tolls paid for not just the iconic decorative lights on the span but the streetlights on the approaches and under the expressways as well. It’s dark. It’s scary. It’s definitely not safe.  Equally troubling, the brilliant span that defined the New Orleans skyline at nationally watched events - Mardi Gras, Superbowl, The Final Four, etc. - is no more.  Will everyone still know New Orleans is open for business?

Local government told to pick up the bill

The DOTD does not pay for lighting. They don’t do it on any of the other state bridges so it certainly wouldn’t be “fair” if they did it for the Crescent City Connection. You can’t argue with that.

That is why the DOTD informed local officials they would be installing three sets of meters, each to cover the portion of the bridge that ran through their jurisdiction. Gretna, Orleans and Jefferson parishes would all be billed directly by Entergy.  All three called it an “unfunded mandate” they could not pay. 

But let’s face it, it would be a pretty un-savvy politician that didn’t consider that losing our city's iconic branding might cause some to rethink the brilliance of doing away with the tolls. Especially with Anderson Cooper covering the event like the implosion of a Las Vegas casino.

Enter “transition money”

Officially, transition money’s purpose is to continue funding until such time as another entity can pick up the cost. But, of course, transition money also masks the negative effect of an unwise political decision until those who proposed it are safely reelected or have moved on to another office.  

Although on February 29^th, the Times Picayune reported that Marrero Rep. Patrick Connick intended to file a bill setting aside “70 percent of the estimated $9 million to $15 million in surplus toll revenue to pay for lighting and maintaining flower beds..." as of March 2nd - the last day to pre-file bills - he had not done so.

At $2.5 million per year for landscaping, grass-cutting and litter pickup and $800,000 more for bridge lighting, the one-time funds Rep Connick says he intends to tap would pay Entergy’s bill for another three to four years at most.  Should the bill not pass, the lights will go out  on schedule: July 1, 2013.

Either way, without tolls, within FOUR YEARS, the bridge will go dark.