Tunnel takes its toll

Aug 2 2005 By Evening Gazette

Business leaders are up in arms about the possibility of the cost of building a new Tyne Tunnel being imposed as an extra tax burden through higher tolls.

The Forum of Private Business, which campaigns on behalf of 25,000 small-to-medium-sized enterprises nationwide, fears charges on the existing Tyne Tunnel could be sent spiralling to pay for the £180m second tunnel.

Although welcoming the Government go-ahead for the additional tunnel to ease traffic congestion, the FPB says the cost should be largely financed by central government and European Union funding for economically deprived areas.

Rex Garratt, North-east spokesman for the FPB, said: "The Tyne Tunnel is a major link in the UK's North-South road network and the cost of making improvements to the national road network should not fall on the local business economy when national and EU funding could be sought."

I can see that businesses will worry about the cost.

But then time is also money and how much must be wasted by people on work journeys and lorries carrying business supplies getting caught up in the long queues which build up as they hit the bottleneck caused by a single tunnel?

As someone who has family on the North side of the Tyne I have spent many, many hours sitting in traffic waiting to get to the other side of the river.

It is not unusual to have to wait for an hour or even longer on a Friday teatime.

I, for one, can't wait for the second tunnel to become a reality and am quite prepared to pay the reported £2.10 toll - it is currently £1 for a car.