Drivers save $2 per crossing by opening a prepaid account
Here’s a winning tip for Kentucky Derby visitors: You can save money on tolls if you open a prepaid RiverLink account before using the three tolled Ohio River bridges.
Three of the five bridges connecting Louisville and Southern Indiana are now tolled. Tolling started late last year on the new I-65 Abraham Lincoln Bridge, the improved I-65 Kennedy Bridge and the new SR 265 Lewis and Clark Bridge connecting Prospect, Ky. and Utica, Ind. The I-64 Sherman Minton Bridge and the US 31 Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge) are not tolled.
RiverLink is all-electronic tolling, with no stopping, no slowing, no lines and no coin machines. Toll rates range from $2-$12, depending on the size of the vehicle. Drivers with prepaid accounts and transponders pay the lowest toll rates. The difference is $2 per crossing. It costs $2 to cross a tolled bridge in a passenger vehicle with a prepaid account and transponder and $4 without.
Drivers can open a prepaid RiverLink account to pay the lowest toll rates, or travel the bridges without a prepaid account and wait for an invoice in the mail.
Drivers traveling in rental cars should contact their rental car agency for terms and conditions of payments. These transactions are often sent to the rental car company’s E-ZPass account, and must be paid through the rental car company. These transactions are not available for payment by RiverLink.
Opening a RiverLink Account
Drivers can open a personal account online at www.RiverLink.com or by phone at 855-RIV-LINK. A personal account can include up to four vehicles, with a minimum balance of $20 to open an account. RiverLink transponders are mailed, free of charge, to account holders. The account balance rolls over month to month.
Transponders usually arrive in 7-10 days. New account holders will pay the lowest tolling rates, if they’ve established a prepaid account, while they wait for their transponders to arrive. License plates will be read and the transponder rate applied until transponders are delivered. Drivers can choose between two transponder options.
A RiverLink local transponder is free, one per registered vehicle. The small sticker adheres to the inside of windshield, is non-transferable and works only on the new Lewis and Clark, new Lincoln and improved Kennedy bridges.
A RiverLink E-ZPass transponder is $15 per transponder. It’s mounted to the inside of the windshield, is portable from vehicle to vehicle registered to a single account and works in all 16 E-ZPass states (https://e-zpassiag.com/about-e-zpass/where-can-i-use-it).
All E-ZPass transponders, including the I-PASS from Illinois and the Indiana Toll Road E-ZPass work with the RiverLink system. No further action is necessary.
Drivers Without Accounts Receive Invoices
For drivers without prepaid accounts and transponders, cameras capture an image of the license plate and an invoice is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. There’s no need for drivers to take any action until the invoice arrives. Initial invoices are for tolls owed, and do not include any penalties.
Invoices can be paid online, by mail, by phone or in person at a RiverLink customer service center. Drivers who do not pay tolls on time will be charged additional fees and may face restrictions on vehicle registration until tolls and penalties are paid.