Tunnel toll opponents to voice their objections

OPPONENTS of tolls at the new tunnel which will be built under the river Shannon near Limerick will set out their case at an oral hearing tomorrow in Limerick.

Work on the tunnel is expected to start next year after the National Roads Authority awards the contract.

Four private consortia have tendered to build and operate the tunnel and adjacent roads network, expected to cost a total of €372 million to complete.

It is projected that the successful bidder will generate about €450m in tolls over 30 years.

It is the first proposed toll road to be built outside the greater Dublin area and is scheduled for completion by 2009.

The NRA, in a draft toll scheme document, said motorists will be charged €1.60 to access the 900 metre-long tunnel, while drivers of large trucks face a charge of €5.

The NRA estimates that as many as 30,000 vehicles a day will use the tunnel and this figure is projected to rise to 40,000 by 2028.

The public-private partnership arrangement will, according to the NRA, deliver the completion of the project earlier than it could be completed under conventional roads programme.

Tomorrow’s hearing will be held in the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel in Limerick.

It is expected that representatives of the Irish Road Hauliers Association and the Automobile Association will spell out their objections to a toll system.

A hauliers spokesman said the tolls planned for the Limerick tunnel will cancel out any advantage the road may have, because of delays caused by pay queues.

He said Cork’s Jack Lynch tunnel has been a traffic success because it does not have a toll.

“To locate tolls in an urban environment is fundamentally unsuited to the operation of an efficient road network,” said the hauliers spokesman.

Conor Faughnan of the AA said toll schemes are inherently inefficient as they cause diversions from new roads onto existing roads because of the toll charge.

Following tomorrow’s hearing, an inspector appointed by the NRA will make a report and recommendations, which will be considered by the NRA before determining whether to adopt the scheme.