New motorway to forgo toll in snarl-ups

The €600 million Kilcock to Kinnegad toll-motorway in the midlands opens on December 12th and guarantees free passage for motorists when queues exceed five vehicles or more.

The 39km motorway, which is opening 10 months ahead of schedule, was built under a public-private partnership and will operate under a level-of- service agreement. It allows free passage if motorists cannot get from a point 30m before the barrier to a point 5m after the barrier in 25 seconds or less.

The deal between the National Roads Authority (NRA) and toll operator, Irish-Spanish consortium Eurolink, is set to be a model for all toll road schemes.

However, it will not apply to Dublin's East-Link or to the notorious M50 West-Link bridge. An NRA spokesman said yesterday the organisation had not existed when the M50 arrangements were agreed.

"Probably they did not expect the number of vehicles using the M50 to rise to the current level of 90,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day, and maybe they were not as alive to the issue of level of service. But the West-Link has not been a good experience for the motorist and we have no desire to repeat it."

The NRA is concerned that reduced travel times and better journey "experiences" should not in future be whittled away by queuing at toll booths. It said yesterday the agreement meant that if about five or six cars were queuing at tolls in future PPP schemes, the barriers would open.

The toll price for a car on the Kilcock to Kinnegad motorway will be €2.40 until the end of the year, rising to €2.50 next year. The highest toll for a four-axle heavy goods vehicle will be €6, rising to €6.20 next year.

The Kilcock to Kinnegad motorway will have 18 toll booths, nine in each direction that will serve an expected 18,000 vehicles a day. Just under 40,000 vehicles a day are forecast by 2025, at which level the current system will still cope, according to the level-of-service agreement.

Two lanes will be automatic for electronic tolling but unlike existing arrangements on the M50 and M1, the barrier will be normally raised, falling only if a vehicle without a valid pass enters the automatic lane. All lanes are ultimately capable of operating as automatic lanes.

The Kilcock to Kinnegad scheme was built by Cintra-Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA and Siac, partners in Eurolink. The western end of Kinnegad marks the point at which the M4/N4 will separate from the M6 Dublin to Galway road.

The Kilcock to Kinnegad motorway will open in tandem with the remaining section of the Kinnegad to McNead's Bridge scheme on the N4. This will in turn connect to the Downs dual carriageway, bypassing Mullingar and bringing a continuous dual carriageway or motorway standard road from Dublin to Lough Owel, north of Mullingar, a distance of almost 96km (60 miles).

Travel times on the N4 will be further improved early next year when one of the worst bottlenecks in the west, around Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, is eased.