Debate rages over toll price

THE State Government has said delays to the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project will not have an influence on the toll price motorists will have to pay.

Minister for Transport Mark Bailey told The Chronicle costs of operating and maintaining the bypass, toll levels currently charged in Queensland and the value the new route will provide to users would inform the price the government sets for the toll - not added costs related to construction delays.

Those comments came in response to a heated debate in parliament last week where Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts claimed the government was being evasive in revealing the price.

“The reason I believe the minister is not willing to tell us what the toll is going to be is that the toll is going to be higher than it should be to pay for some of the incompetencies of the contract and the inability to deliver that contract on time and on budget,” Mr Watts told parliament on Wednesday.

“I am positive that people are going to be forced to pay a higher toll to cover the mistakes the minister has made in signing a contract without being able to protect the taxpayers’ purse.”

Mr Bailey did not reveal when the State Government would announce the toll price, only stating that it would be announced prior to the project’s opening.

The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing was initially expected to be open by late 2018, though contractor Nexus Infrastructure announced in January it has now been delayed until 2019.

“Further consultation with industry will happen before a decision on pricing is made,” he said.