Traffic level passes one million vehicles on £600m Mersey Gateway
More than one million vehicles have crossed the Mersey Gateway Bridge in its first 16 days of opening, with around 68% of the journeys made by vehicles already registered with merseyflow.
Tolls have been in force since the new bridge, which links Runcorn and Widnes, opened, and around 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles every weekday are taking advantage of the new nine kilometre route between junction 12 of the M56 and Speke Road in Widnes.
Drivers have a choice of either registering with merseyflow, paying for their one-off journey up to a year in advance or paying for it by 11.59pm the day after they cross.
David Parr, chief executive of Halton Borough Council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings board, said: “We’re very pleased that so many people are using the new route in its first two weeks, and I’m particularly pleased with the feedback our team has had from a lot of people about the time it has saved them on their journeys.”
One North West business backing the project is Stobart Group, which has a major logistics base in Widnes employing 166 people locally and running 135 vehicles supplying customers across the country.
Anthony Alicastro, chief executive of emovis operations (Mersey) Ltd, a subsidiary of emovis, which runs the merseyflow operation, said: “It has been a very busy time for the team and for our customers with a lot of people getting used to the new system, and we are checking all of the journeys that people have made very carefully so I’d ask our customers to be patient when it comes to things like journeys appearing on their online accounts.
“What I do want to do is reassure people that if they have registered or if they pay on time, then they won’t get a penalty charge notice.”
He added: “For anyone that does receive a PCN, our advice is to deal with it as quickly as possible as you get a 50% discount – reducing the charge to £20 plus the original toll fee – if you pay within 14 days. The PCN also contains details of how you can challenge the payment if you feel it has been sent in error.”
