the plaza once. However, traffic only traveling between Føyno to Bømlo does not have to pay. Cars driving along E39 drive straight ahead through the plaza, while cars to or from Bømlo need to use the interchange. There is also an intersection allowing access to the island. The plaza has six lanes, of which two in each direction have a toll booth and one in each direction has an automatic collection. The toll station uses the Autopass toll collection, which allows passage without stopping, in addition to manual collection. Passengers, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcyclists and mopeds are free. After a restructuring of the toll costs in 2006, the fees were NOK 85 for cars and NOK 270 for trucks, having previously had two separate fees for small and large trucks. Frequent travelers can prepay for at least 40 passings to the toll company, and receive a 40 percent discount. After the down payment was finished in April 2013, the tolls were removed and the roads became free to travel on starting 30 April 2013. History Pontoon bridge proposals The first recorded proposal for a connection between Bømlo and Stord was made in the 1960s by sheriff, and later mayor of Fitjar, Finn Havnerås. Christened the Island Road, he proposed a series of eleven bridges and causeways which would run from Kalveid in Fitjar via Brandasund to Rolfsnes in Bømlo. While local politicians were not opposed to the plan, the recent municipal merger between Bømlo, Bremnes and Moster made them prioritize other sectors and the project was abandoned without any official investigations. A new route was launched by Bømlo Mayor Malvin Meling, who proposed a pontoon bridge which would cross Stokksundet. He was inspired by the plans to build what would become the Nordhordland Bridge north of Bergen. In 1973, the municipal councils of Bømlo, Stord and Fitjar decided to launch a planning process, which concluded that a pontoon bridge between Sørstokken and Foldrøyholmen would be optimal. The report also considered bridges across the Fitjar Archipelago and a crossing via Spissøy and Føyno. There were protests from Wichmann Motorfabrikk who were concerned about their operations if the sound was closed for shipping traffic. Similar protests also came from the shipping industry, who wished to continue using Stokksundet; the protests were not remedied by the plans including a suspension bridge across Foldrøysundet. To illustrate their point, one shipowner let two of his ships