West-link toll road makes almost €1m every week
The amount of traffic passing through the toll plaza on part of the M50 road around the capital grew by 10% over the past three months to reach a record high in July.
The West-Link’s busiest day to date, Friday, July 16, saw over 100,000 vehicles pass through the system and contribute to the average €46m earned by the facility each year.
Traffic at the West-Link toll facility has increased significantly since the opening of a second West-Link Bridge in September 2003 with an average daily throughput of 87,000 between April and June this year.
Morning peak hour traffic has increased by 15% since the introduction of the extra toll lane in each direction and up to 7,600 vehicles per hour use the facility during the busy morning peak hours.
Operators of the toll facility, NTR plc, announced it is to install the Eazy Pass prepaid card system at the new North-Link toll plaza on the M1 in a bid to speed up journey times on the main Dublin to Belfast road after the success of the facility on the West-Link.
NTR Road Division managing director Tony McClafferty said the company was continuing to develop the Eazy Pass service as a way of allowing motorists to pass through the toll plazas quicker. “The introduction of Eazy Pass at North-Link is a significant development as this will speed throughput for drivers travelling north and south to and from Belfast, Newry and Dundalk as well as to and from Derry, Donegal and the other border counties,” he said.
NTR said 60,000 customers have now joined the Eazy Pass electronic toll collection system, with 38% of all vehicles using the service during peak hours. Up to 58% of commercial vehicles using West-Link take advantage of the system.
In addition to the West-Link facility, NTR operates the East-Link toll facility and the new North-Link toll plaza. On a busy day the three facilities handle a combined 130,000 toll customers.
