It's going to cost more to cross into the United States at the Blue Water Bridge.
Effective April 1, the Canadian toll will go up by $0.50 to $4 for passenger vehicles.
Federal Bridge Corporation Ltd. (FBCL) Vice President of Communications Andre Girard, says the sinking Canadian dollar and decreased traffic at the border crossing have made the increase necessary.
"The last time we played with the toll was in 2013 when the Canadian dollar was at par, so right now as you probably know the Canadian dollar has been going down quite a bit over the last year," says Girard. "So to adjust for that, the lack of U.S. dollars coming into Canada because of less traffic, forces us to revise our tolls."
Adjustments based on the current value of the dollar are being phased in and future toll rates will be evaluated twice a year, on April 1 and October 1.
The corporation says the flow of revenue is required to properly operate, maintain and repair the bridge and address long-term debt obligations.
Girard also says the FBCL will eliminate the sale of tokens as of April 1 and announce a replacement commuter discount program at a later date. Tokens in circulation will continue to be accepted until they're exhausted.
In the meantime, the Michigan Department of Transportation has a public hearing scheduled for Thursday evening in Point Edward as it explores a parity policy that would increase tolls for Canada bound passenger vehicles from $3 Canadian per trip, to $4.
The hearing is from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at the village municipal office.
