A FAIR DEAL FOR THE MOTORIST |
Toll ahead TOLLING THE A14 – THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME? THERE IS THE MONEY AVAILABLE – FOR THE THINGS THAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS. SO WHY BREAK A PROMISE NOT TO MOVE TOWARDS TOLLS ON EXISTING CAPACITY? Just after Parliament went into summer recess, plans
slipped out for a tolled 20 mile section of the A14 in Cambridgeshire. The A14 is the key route connecting the ports of
Felixstowe and Harwich with the West Midlands, with its many warehousing
distribution and logistics points. The route is busy with freight, and there
are ambitious plans to expand Felixstowe, which is easily England’s main
commercial container port. Some
of the reporting has been loose, but the DFT Press
Release says that construction work could begin by 2018. This depends on
a number of factors – government spending plans; agreement with interested
local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and ‘commercial decision
making’. The
blueprint included a new bypass to replace the existing road around
Huntingdon and upgrades along the A14 as far east as Milton. Two new roads
would be built in parallel to, with one on each side of, the current A14
immediately north of Cambridge for local use. Meanwhile,
the existing A14 carriageway will be upgraded through the removal of accesses
and junctions, and improvements to junctions at the northern and southern
ends. Funding
could be generated “in part” through tolling some of the enhanced A14,
featuring around 20 miles of new or widened road. However, study was needed
on the length of tolled section and other charging details. The Coalition had committed not to introduce tolls - or
prepare for them - on the existing
road network during the current Parliament (read: ‘for cars’). However – the government overwhelmingly accepted the
thrust of the ‘Cook Report’, which recommended looking at developing ‘route
based strategies’ during 2012 – a Trojan Horse for looking at tolling routes that are currently free. (see related article.) On the A14, commentators were quick to point out that car
drivers would be charged to use a new or widened stretch. However, under the
same plans, local traffic would be able to travel for free on new roads
running parallel to both sides of the existing A14. Road pricing pundit Scott Wilson summarised some uncertainties;
the exact map has not been agreed and the options will go out to
consultation. He notes that an earlier report for DFT assumed: ·
tolls would apply only in peak periods, (3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon)
·
they would be payable each time the tolled route was
entered; and ·
freight vehicles would be charged at a toll (£3) twice
that of private cars (£1.50). However there were now doubts on ‘such low rates’ and
charging only for peak periods. Wilson speculated that the A14 might be leased off to a
private company for 40 years for building the upgrade and then operating the
route. He described enthusiasm
for tolling as “weak at best” and claimed that the AA was opposing it
(presumably due to the cost to its patrols and breakdown vehicles?). East
Anglian MPs welcomed the extra capacity on the busy route, but wanted to see
the detail and expressed concern over the impact on their local communities. The Peterborough
Today paper reported that local businesses were concerned about tolling
increasing their costs or that motorists avoiding the tolled route would
increase traffic on local roads. (Wilson speculates that tolling would almost
certainly have to be extended to include the existing
road, with pricing to avoid drivers diverting from the main tolled route). Road Haulage Association (RHA) Area
Manager Philip
Scotney was totally against the plans. An unnamed spokesman for the RHA was also quoted as supporting new
infrastructure, but “we are against tolls...there is no way that haulage
companies can absorb the costs, so the end user will have to pay.” He
added: “In a way they’ve got a captive market, it’s the only route from the
Midlands to Felixstowe ....we are being held to ransom. What choice have we
got?” Ironically, the cost of developing
the A14 is given at around
£1.3 billion, the same amount as our ‘top up’ contribution to
the European Investment Bank which finances building roads abroad. |
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FOOTNOTE – ‘No Money
Around’ West
Suffolk MP Matthew Hancock would rather not see the existing A14 tolled, but
sighs that “there’s
no money around”. He might look a little harder, as Britain is spending
billions on dubious causes such as wind turbine subsidies. Through our EU
contributions alone we are financing the Rural Roads Rehabilitation Project will build or maintain
about 25,000 miles of road in Kenya.
Overall objectives include reducing transport costs and travel time, as well
as improving road safety. Our money is also helping Italy
with soft loans via the European Investment Bank (EIB). A £400 million line
of credit is going to Autostrade per l’Italia, to relieve traffic congestion
north of Florence, speed up traffic on the Apennine segment of the A1 and
have a positive environmental and employment impact. (But don’t tell the DFT
and DECC about the 'environmental improvements' going hand in hand with
greater and faster motorway traffic!). However, Italy has had to repay a record £307 million to
the EU after a motorway project in the south of the country was found to be
riven with mafia infiltration, corruption and kickbacks. The investigation
found that more than €381 million was lost through fraud, fake contracts
and ghost road works. (Maybe someone could investigate our road works that
seem to go on forever?). |