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Finance report: revenues ahead of budget; board discusses recapture and Bridge Connect enforcement
Summary
Financial consultant Eddie Gutierrez reported year-to-date revenue and operating-expense figures and the board discussed rising recapture rates and enforcement/permit issues raised at a recent Bridge Connect convening.
Eddie Gutierrez of Bluestone Capital Solutions presented the Bridgeboard’s finance report for December 2024 and the first-quarter comparisons for crossings and revenues. Gutierrez reported year-to-date total revenues of $5,388,267, of which $5,000,239.58 (about 97%) were toll fees. He said operating expenses were $698,632 (about 13% of revenues); personnel costs were $336,009.46 (about 6.3% of revenues) and contractual agreements were roughly $179,134 (about 3.3% of revenues). Gutierrez said the board’s first-quarter collections exceeded budget and were higher than the same period last year.
Gutierrez also reviewed bond-debt profile numbers, saying the bridge bond annual payment is estimated at $4,209,000, with more than half of that payment going to interest (he cited approximately $2,200,000) and the remainder to principal (about $2,000,000). He said quarterly crossing-and-revenue comparisons show increases in both northbound and southbound movements for the first quarter of the fiscal/operational year.
On recapture — the share of northbound vehicles that return southbound through the same facility — Gutierrez reported a recapture rate around 92% for February 2025 with monthly movement from about 91% to 93% and then to 94% in the most recent months, a trend he described as upward.
Board members and staff then discussed enforcement and permitting concerns raised at a recent Bridge Connect meeting attended by more than 150 participants. Staff said the issues involve overweight and permitting compliance in the industrial area between Highline, Jackson, Cage and Military, where some carriers pay for overweight permits that may not match the commodity or route they are hauling. Staff said the city and partner organizations including TIPA and others are working on next steps; organizers plan follow-up and possible lobbying efforts during the upcoming legislative session. Several board members emphasized that industry associations’ participation and dues help support lobbying and collective action.
Why it matters: the finance figures underpin the bridge’s operating capacity and debt payments. The recapture trend and enforcement discussions bear on revenue retention, congestion patterns and fines levied under federal/state overweight rules.
