Commuters from the Helsby and Frodsham area are outraged that they will have to pay £2 each way to cross the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge and the new Mersey Gateway Bridge when they become tolled in 2017.
Halton Borough Council approved the toll scheme – which will see regular users of the bridge paying up to hundreds of pounds a year – last week.
Resident Debbie Marsden from Helsby said: “I use the bridge to go to work so it will cost me £50 a month extra just to get to work.
“With the cost of living and petrol increasing this extra cost is not good news. Unless I change jobs I guess I will just have to pay it and be out of pocket.”
The managing director of Helsby-based charity ChAPS, which supports parents and families affected by Asperger’s and autistic spectrum disorders, is concerned about the impact the tolls might have on their work.
Jo Garner said: “ChAPS provides short break services for families in Halton and I live in Helsby. That means every time I go for a meeting or provide a service in Widnes it will cost ChAPS £4. And if there are four members of staff at a particular service that is £16 a time.
“This will seriously impact our ability to provide services in Halton and affects families with autistic children who already struggle because of the nature of their child's difficulties. Not impressed.”
The decision to toll the bridge, which is used by over 80,000 vehicles per day, was taken to prevent congestion caused by drivers avoiding the tolls on the new six- lane Mersey Gateway Bridge, which is due to open in 2017.
It is believed the tolls will match the cost of using the Mersey tunnels by 2017.
However, there will be provisions for motorists who live outside Halton.
A spokesperson for the Mersey Gateway project said: “If you are a bridge user who lives outside Halton you will be able to reduce the cost of tolls either by investing in one of the monthly passes, which will cost £90 per month for an unlimited travel pass or £60 per month for an off- peak pass, or by registering with the toll provider to save up to 10% on the cost of each trip.
“Tolling the bridges is the only way we can deliver a new crossing, and the benefits it will bring to the regional economy in terms of over 4,000 projected new jobs and many millions of pounds of inward investment are hugely significant.”
While Frodsham Town Councillor Andrew Dawson said he thinks it’s ‘absolutely fantastic that the government is investing so heavily’ in local transport infrastructure, he added that it could be ‘quite a burden if you are having to pay day in day out’.
Both bridges will use an open road tolling system - where smart technology is used to capture vehicle details and ensure that all bridge user pay – instead of toll booths.
