Year in Review: #4 - Voters approve CCC tolls

The #4 local news story of the year, as voted on by the WWL Radio editorial board:  Voters approve a 20-year extension of tolls on the Crescent City Connection. 

In one of the most contentious ballot items of the year, the fate of tolls on the Crescent City Connection came down to just 32 mail-in ballots.
 

After counting those ballots, those in favor of keeping tolls on the Crescent City Connection won a razor-thin victory.

Of the 20 mail-in voters who voted on the toll issue, 14 voted "yes," 6 voted "no."
 

Before the final count of the 32 mail-in ballots, the vote to keep the tolls was in the lead by just eight votes.
 

After a slight delay to make sure all the military mail-in ballots had time to arrive, and to account for the observance of Veterans Day, elections officials counted the remaining 32 ballots in Orleans Parish.
 

Orleans Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell has seen some close votes, but said  this one takes the cake.
 

''Razor thin, because you're talking about 16 votes out of over 200,000 cast,'' Morrell said, adding, "this is how close it is, you can have one family who maybe didn't get out to vote for some reason and it could have made a change in the outcome of the election.''

Had the measure been defeated, the $1 toll to cross the 5th largest bridge in the U.S. would have expired.  Backers of keeping the toll said the funds were necessary for the upkeep of the bridge, despite a history of mismanagement of funds and resources by those overseeing the bridge. 
 

Proponents of the toll said the bridge could fall into disrepair without the toll funding for painting, lighting, the bridge police force, and grass-cutting. 
 

Opponents of the toll, such as Jefferson Parish President John Young, said that the state was legally obligated to maintain the bridge, making the tolls unnecessary. 

 

Photo by Jay Vise