4 toll-free hours, on AmSouth

Commuters on the Veterans Expressway will have four hours Thursday morning to zip through the main Anderson Road Plaza for free because AmSouth Bank is picking up the tab in a promotional campaign.

AmSouth says it wishes it could have done more.

It certainly tried.

As part of a far-reaching "Do More than Expected" week, the Alabama bank late Friday said it reached a tentative agreement to pick up tolls on Veterans, the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway and Sunshine Skyway heading into Pinellas County.

As the St. Petersburg Times reported earlier, the toll-free campaign was supposed to last for one peak hour Thursday morning.

"Logistical problems" sidelined the more widespread freebie, said Joanne Hurley, spokeswoman for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, the agency in charge of state toll roads.

"When the final agreement was drafted, it was changed somewhat from the preliminary agreement," Hurley said Tuesday.

What hasn't changed much is the cost. Although it is footing the bill for just one site, the bank figures the price tag will be about the same, just north of $10,000, because it is committing to four hours instead of one.

The free hours: 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

"We're extremely happy to be able to pay tolls for one of the most heavily traveled expressways in Tampa Bay," AmSouth spokeswoman Jerri Franz said.

"We look forward to an opportunity to perhaps do this for all Tampa commuters at some other time."

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.