The Michigan Department of Transportation and the Mackinac Bridge Authority have announced a plan that would change the classification system and toll structure at the Mackinac Bridge in March 2003. Commercial vehicles currently shell out $2 per axle to cross the bridge, and passenger vehicles pay $1.50.

At its Nov. 8 meeting, the MBA board unanimously approved public hearings on a proposal to consider the new system. MBA Board Chairman William Gnodtke said the authority would consider cutting classifications from 17 to three with some adjustments to the actual tolls.

The 45-year-old bridge has undergone more than $50 million in major structural repair and replacement projects in the past five years. Scheduled projects over the next 10 years total nearly $100 million, Gnodtke said. Projects include bridge painting, a new security system, truck-holding and -inspection areas, concrete repairs and structural steel replacement and repair.

"Based on the existing toll structure, the board projects a budget shortfall in 2006," Bob Sweeney, the authority's executive secretary, said. "The cost of maintaining the bridge keeps going up. The MBA is totally self-sufficient and needs additional toll revenue to continue moving forward with plans to effectively maintain the structure."

Public hearings to discuss the plan are scheduled at:

• St. Ignace - 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002, at Quality Inn, 913 Boulevard Drive;
• Mackinaw City - 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002, at the Hamilton Inn, 701 S. Huron Street; and
• Lansing - 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002, Lobby Conference Room, MDOT Van Wagoner Transportation Building, 425 W. Ottawa St.