The vote to approve a 20-year extension of the Crescent City Connection tolls has been upheld following a partial recount Saturday of nearly 4,000 paper ballots in Orleans Parish.

The recount found that the 20-year extension of the tolls actually won by 36 votes. The official 18-vote margin was extended by 18 votes out of more than 308,000 ballots cast in the Nov. 6 election.

But Mike Teachworth, founder of Stop the Tolls, who sued to force the recount, warned the effort to overturn the election is far from over. A trial has been set for March 4-5 on the issue.

The Times-Picayune reports state District Judge William Morvant of the 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge notified attorneys in the case of his decision during a conference call Tuesday.

Patrick Hand III, the attorney representing Stop the Tolls, said he's disappointed that the vote was upheld, but they're not giving up efforts to overturn it.

"We're seeking to nullify the entire vote, and that's based upon separate allegations, completely separate and distinct allegations from what we made in order to get the recount granted," Hand said.

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