The William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge operates at an annual average deficit of $7-million, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA). An additional $45-million in revenue is needed each year to pay for growing maintenance and operation costs and a $225-million system preservation that includes cable work, substructure repairs, cleaning, painting and westbound re-decking, MdTA spokesman Cheryl Sparks said June 21. The Bay Bridge currently generates an average of $35-million and is estimated to generate at least $80-million beginning in July 2013 if proposed toll increases are implemented. MdTA began releasing data on June 16 in response to claims at a public hearing the night before that they were withholding essential information related specifically to the Bay Bridge. Speakers said the Bay Bridge is a money maker and proposed toll increases will go to pay for facilities on the western shore.
Statements of revenue and expense related to the Bay Bridge on the MdTA website support claims that the Bay Bridge is a revenue-maker with an average annual surplus of $22.5-million for fiscal years 2007 to 2010. But those reports do not include capital improvements or indirect expenses for system-wide general and administrative allocations. The information comes from the Statement of Toll Revenue and Expenses overview labeled Schedule I and Exhibit A in audited financial statements. Other documents on the website show system-wide expenses not on the Schedule I, but do not break out each facility’s share of those expenses.
On June 16, Kelly Melhem of the MdTA, provided a comprehensive overview of those four years. While her data matched the revenue on the website, the expense was significantly higher at an average of $42-million each fiscal year and resulted in an average annual deficit of about $7-million. The expenses include operation costs represented inconsistently on the overviews, but available in other supplemental documents. The expenses also include capital improvements and system-wide allocations.
MdTA Chief Financial Officer Deb Sharpless said this is the first time they have allocated system-wide expenses to individual facilities in this way and released the information to the public. She said it is not something they would normally do because the numbers do not conform with accounting rules associated with the way financial information is reported.
Sharpless said system-wide expense calculations were applied based on revenue and capital projects. The only system-wide expense specific to the Bay Bridge where no calculation was needed was the debt service allocation. She agreed to provide a remaining balance for the reported $225-million system preservation project.
– From WCTR