METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Driving over the Causeway may start to cost a little bit more. That’s thanks to inflation.

Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou said every seven years the tolls are reviewed for inflation.

According to Dufrechou’s estimates, it could be about a 20% increase. That would raise the price with a toll tag from $3 to $3.70 and the cash price from $5 to at least $6.

The reason that the financial analyst did this in 2016, they recognize that the bridge is much more than just a hunk of concrete,” Dufrechou said. “There are 9,000 piles, 4,000 deck sections. It all requires maintenance on an annual basis.”

The bridge undergoes $6-8 million in maintenance per year and insurance on the bridge is $2.5 million per year. Money also needs to support the Causeway Police Department.

“The Causeway is 67 years old,” Dufrechou said. “Because it is inspected annually, maintained continually, it’s exceeded its original lifespan twice and there’s no reason that it can’t last forever.”

The financial report with how much the tolls could increase should be released in June or July.

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