Although I agree with John Carlson on almost everything, I do disagree with him that the I-90 bridge never had a toll. I know it did in the late 1940s.

I attended Franklin High school in 1947-1948. At that time Mercer Island had no high school, and many students there attended Franklin. One of my friends at school lived on the west side of Mercer Island. Many times I would give him a ride home – at least as far across the bridge to just before the toll bridge. There I would drop him off, grab a U-turn and return back across the bridge to the Mount Baker area. He would go over the side of the bridge onto dirt built up to the side of the bridge, and then on to his home nearby. I think the toll was about 25 cents, which was a lot of money to us at that time.

Back to the current issue, I believe between our current high gas tax plus the Obama spending bill we should not need to tax any bridge. Redirect some of the dollars aimed at pork projects within the state and make sure no gas tax dollars are diverted to the General Fund where every government official and state legislator wants some of it for their pet programs.

Dick Applestone, Bellevue