Plans for New Toll Roads

The government had previously said that no existing road in the country would receive road tolls; well this is not longer the case. New plans have been announced for road tolls to help with the funding for road schemes. Heavily congested areas all over the country could receive the new tolls roads, potentially making a lot of angry road users.

The plans so far are for the A14 which takes traffic from the Catthorpe interchange and a widened section going through Cambridgeshire to be subject to tolls. This is along with other heavily congested areas in the country.

At the next spending review the begin date for construction is set to be decided, but a possible construction start date could be 2018. The government have been in talks for the past year about how best to reduce congestion without causing huge bills. One of the new sections of road which is to be build is set to cost around £1.5 billion, this would be paid for privately and then the costs recovered from the toll charges.

Decisions are still being made about what payment methods the customers will use, how much the toll will cost customers and how far the toll section would stretch. These decisions should not be taken lightly as they will have a big impact on how well received the new toll roads are.

We can safely say that there will be a lot of road user’s who are against the new road tolls, but will it improve the congestion situation? Or is it just another way for the government to make money? And is all of the time and work being put into the new scheme really going to be worth it? Something does need to be done about the congestion situation, that is for sure, but no one can really say if this is the right way to go about solving this difficult issue.