Mersey Gateway Bridge issued £2.8m in fines in first three months

Work on the Mersey Gateway blamed for some of the firm's problems

The new Mersey Gateway Bridge issued just under £2.8m in fines within the first three months of opening to traffic.

The figure were obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Drivers who failed to pay the £2 toll were issued with a Penalty Charge Notice by Halton Borough Council. The charges were issued between October and January.

The six-lane bridge across the River Mersey between Widnes and Runcorn opened in autumn 2017 and cost £1.75bn to build.

The council confirmed it had raised £15m in revenue from the bridge with £2.775m coming from fines. The fines made up 18.5% of the total cash raised.

The Scrap Mersey Tolls campaign group has described the figure as “shocking” and claimed that the total number of fines will increase.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Local politicians should be ashamed that they have inflicted such a widespread burden of financial misery.”

Car drivers pay £2 to use the crossing but it is free to use for Halton residents who pay an administration fee.

The Mersey Gateway bridge has no toll booths and motorists who have not paid in advance have until 11.59pm after their journey to pay.

People who fail to pay the toll face a penalty charge of £40 which is reduced to £20 if you pay within 14 days.

The fines are paid to Merseyflow and Halton Council authorise them.

In April the council said 10 million vehicles had crossed the bridge since it opened in October and 250,000 penalty charge notices had been issued.

The operators estimated £1m of fines had been issued to drivers in the first month.

It has also emerged that drivers who break down on the bridge face hefty recovery charges.

Stranded motorists are not allowed to arrange their own vehicle recovery and must pay a minimum fee of £150.

The council has confirmed that the FOI figures are correct.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close