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Inquiry into Humber toll hike
Page 15
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THE HUMBER BRIDGE, which is £350m in debt, faces a public inquiry next month over planned toll increases.
The one-way toll for a topweight truck is scheduled to rise from £16.70 to117.30. The inquiry will hear public comments on this plan on 7 February.
Although the bridge is 25 years old, its governing board still owes i.:350m to the government for construction costs.
Bridgemaster Peter Hill says the toll increase is needed if the bridge is to reduce its debt to the treasury, due lobe paid off by 2035.
The scale of the tolls has always been controversial but Hill says the Government would not have built the bridge unless local authorities had demanded it, which means they must pay for it.
-Local people wanted it, local people got it and local people must pay for it," he says.
Hill acknowledges that £16.70 is a high toll relative to other bridges in the UK but argues that it still represents good value for some operators.
He explains:"If you're travelling from Hull toGrimsby and don't take the bridge, you have to make a 70-mile diversion. You can't run an artic for 70 miles on £.16.70, so in that sense we believe the price is fair."