300,000 vehicles have used the Leeville bridge without paying
State transportation officials have allowed up to 300,000 cars and trucks to use a troubled toll bridge in far south Louisiana without operators paying. That's according to a report issued by the state legislative auditor.
Daryl Purpera said in an 18-page review that state officials failed to charge motorists with electronic accounts that had insufficient funds and did not send delinquency notices to nearly 40,000 violators who used the La. 1 bridge in Leeville.
The structure is used to haul nearly 20% of the nation's crude oil and natural gas supplies.
8,000 to 10,000 vehicles use the bridge daily. Most cars pay $2.50 for a round trip while the charge for large trucks is $12.
Toll collections have been a problem since they started being collected two years ago, and state officials said in July that troubles remained despite the opening of a cash lane in June.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
