No companies bid to pay tolls on Bay Bridge

Strike two.

The state's second attempt to persuade companies to pay motorists' tolls across the Bay Bridge this summer has failed - and although officials admit they are down, they insist they are not out. They say they will try again.

Not a single company bid by yesterday's deadline to pay the tolls on Friday nights in July, even though Maryland reduced the minimum required bid by 35 percent. Last month, no companies bid to pay the tolls on weekends in June.

The Maryland Lottery, however, agreed to pay $59,119 to cover the tolls for a 12-hour period beginning at 7 p.m. June 6.

After talking with companies that had expressed interest in sponsorship, state transportation officials reduced the minimum bid to $27,295 for July 4, $40,816 for July 11 and $46,741 for July 18. Tolls would have been free for motorists from 7 p.m. until midnight on those days, and the state would have provided promotional opportunities to the winning companies, including signs along the bridge.

Thirty-five companies expressed interest during this round of bidding, but none came forward yesterday.

"We're not exactly sure what other types of incentives we could provide to a prospective sponsor, but we will continue to pursue the idea," said a crestfallen Lori Vidil, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority, which runs the bridge.

She said the state will once again interview the companies that expressed interest and then put out another request for bids for Friday nights in August.

The state hoped that offering a free bridge crossing - which normally costs $2.50 for a car - would persuade some drivers to travel during off-peak hours.