WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE END OF SEVERN TOLLS:
WORK on demolishing the toll booths on the Prince of Wales bridge across the River Severn is taking place this weekend.
Tolls will no longer be charged from first thing on Monday resulting in the potential loss of 100 jobs.
Work began yesterday on the process of removing the booths which will take some time and there will be closures to the bridge as follows:
■ Today and tomorrow: From 6am to 8pm today and 6am to 7pm tomorow, three toll lanes will be closed on the Prince of Wales Bridge to allow work that started last night to continue. Overnight the bridge will be fully closed westbound and drivers will be diverted via the M48 bridge.
■ Monday: The Prince of Wales bridge will reopen with three free flowing lanes. These will be narrow lanes with a 50mph speed limit to ensure the safety of drivers.
Shortly after the Prince of Wales bridge reopens toll free on Monday, the M48 bridge will be fully closed westbound for the tolls to be dismantled – it will reopen on Tuesday morning with two free flowing lanes.
These will be narrow lanes with a 50mph speed limit to ensure the safety of drivers. Further work will be carried out in the new year to return both routes to a three lane motorway with the usual 70mph speed limit.
Severn bridges general manager, Hannah Milliner, said: “Work is needed to make sure that drivers can safely travel across the bridges without stopping to pay a toll, or waiting for a barrier to be raised.
“The weekend we have chosen avoids peak period traffic and also means that the work will be complete so that drivers can make journeys free of charge over the festive period.
“We would like to thank drivers in advance for their patience while we carry out this work and to ask them to plan ahead for any journeys they are considering.
“This is a significant piece of work which is far more complex than simply removing toll booths.
“We want to make sure that journeys can be completed safely and free of charge by the end of the year and will then focus on the next stage of work.”
Other changes taking place include the closure of the M4 Rogiet Tag office.
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