Number of toll roads will rise to 13

The number of toll roads in the State is to rise to 13 before the end of the decade, compared to just two at present, the National Roads Authority has confirmed.

Currently the East Link and West Link bridges in Dublin are the only tolled roadways in the Republic.

However, under the National Development Plan's road building programme all the roads funded by the Public Private Partnership scheme will be tolled.

Motorists will face tolls of €1.50, but at least one roadway, the Kilcock-Kinnegad motorway, will charge €2.20. Those charges are set using today's prices. By the time some of the planned tolled roads open by 2008 charges may be higher.

Yesterday the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said the Government would constantly review its policy on which roads would be tolled.

He said there was no question that existing roads might be tolled. Revenue raised from new stretches of tolled roads might be used to finance other road projects and not merely reinvested in the stretch of road upon which the toll was raised.

However, the NRA told The Irish Times that 10 roads currently under construction or in the planning phase under the NDP would be tolled.

They are: Waterford city bypass; Drogheda bypass; Kilcock Kinnegad motorway; Fermoy bypass; Limerick Southern Ring Tunnel; Clonee-Kells bypass; Oranmore-Ballinasloe road; Nenagh-Limerick motorway; link road south of Portlaoise and the new Westlink Bridge.

The Dublin Port Tunnel will also be tolled for cars, and the East Link Bridge and existing West Link bridge are already tolled.

While the Government has ruled out tolling any existing roadways, many access paths to the existing road network will be via roadways that are to be tolled.

Yesterday Mr Brennan said he had not ruled out introducing a "congestion charge" for motorists using roads in Dublin city centre.

A similar levy is to be collected in London from next week.

The Minister said that while the charge could not be ruled out in the longer term, motorists would have to be offered alternatives before Dublin city centre could be cordoned off and become a tolled zone.

He said those alternatives would come when the M50, Port Tunnel and new Westlink bridge were complete.

The issue of charging motorists who use the city centre might be reviewed at that stage, he said.