The Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority will meet Thursday to consider a recommendation from one of its committees on tolling and a start date for the Ohio River Bridges Project.Last week the authority's Finance and Construction Committee recommended that construction of two new bridges and the reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction begin as early as August of 2012 and that local commuters be charged a one dollar bridge toll to help pay for it.The full authority will also have a public hearing on December 13 on an updated financing plan that must be completed by the end of the year. Chairman Charles Buddeke says that will be followed by another meetingto vote on the plan."We'll come back on the 16th and have the final discusion about what we learned on the 13th, and anything else that's come along," he said. The December 13 public hearing will be held from 4:00-7:00pm at the Muhammad Ali Center. The authority is considering a combination of state and federal funding and tolls to pay for the $4.1billion project.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.