6,000 motorists boycott €200m toll road

UP to 6,000 motorists who were expected to use the new Fermoy bypass in Co Cork every day are instead pouring through Watergrasshill, Rathcormac and Fermoy.

The operators of the toll road, Direct Route, have admitted that only 11,000 vehicles are travelling along the €200 million motorway on a daily basis — and not the 17,000 predicted by Transport Minister Martin Cullen at the official opening in October.

Controversy has dogged the toll charges from the start, which vary from €1.60 per journey for cars, and up to €5.30 for heavy trucks.