Truck tunnel ban plan
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Hauliers could be banned from using the old Birkenhead tunnel beneath the River Mersey in Liverpool, following a proposal from the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive which runs the tunnel.
According to the PTE the 58-year-old tunnel structure is in severe danger of long-term damage unless a ban is implemented. "This tunnel was not designed to carry the traffic volume and weight now passing through it," says Gordon Paterson, chairman of the PTE general purposes committee. "There are masses of cracks in the road deck and lumps of concrete are falling off."
The PTE fears the tunnel could cost millions of pounds to repair and it is concerned that this would still not address fire safety problems. A proposal now out for consultation with hauliers recommends a total ban on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
Jim Magner, the Freight Transport Association's Northern Office assistant regional secretary, believes the ban will be accepted.
Hauliers should not be hit too hard as the Wallasey tunnel is less than 11cm away.