Toll test gantries appear on road
DRIVERS travelling along the Bridgewater Expressway in Runcorn this month will see two gantries being installed over the road.
The equipment is being tested as part of the tolling technology that will be used for the Mersey Gateway when it opens in autumn 2017 and also for traffic crossing the Silver Jubilee Bridge when it reopens after refurbishment.
A Merseylink bridge consortium spokesman said that it will be put in place near the petrol station over the next four weeks.
Lane closures on the east and westbound sections of the Bridgewater Expressway will be used to protect drivers, passengers, cyclists and workers, he said.
The spokesman said the testing will be important preparation for the free-flow tolling system – which will allow drivers to cross the bridges without slowing to use a toll booth – and measurements would begin later in the ● year. No-one will be charged during the testing period and the number plate data collected will not be stored longer than is needed for the test.
Once the Mersey Gateway is open, drivers will have to pay a toll to cross both bridges unless they qualify for, and have regis- tered for, free crossings.
David Parr, the chief executive of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board and Halton Borough Council, said: “As the project moves toward its latter stage of construction, the innovative freeflow tolling system must be tested to ensure the smooth operation of both bridges when the Mersey Gateway opens in autumn 2017.
“We have ensured that the installation of the test gantries will have minimal impact on traffic and the testing stage will not affect users in any way.
“Users will be able to travel across the bridge as normal.”
Anthony Alicastro, project director at Emovis, the company installing and managing the open-road tolling system, said: “We’ve worked very closely with Merseylink, the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board and colleagues across Halton Borough Council to ensure that people will be able to make their journeys across the river as quickly as possible without having to slow down for toll booths.
“This will make everyone’s journeys quicker, easier and more reliable.”
Eligible Halton residents will be able to cross both bridges tollfree, provided they register in advance and pay an annual fee of £10 per vehicle.
More information about the eligibility criteria is posted at the website www.merseygateway. co.uk/tolls.