Motoring groups critical over plans for Britain’s second toll motorway

Motoring groups have criticised plans to launch Britain’s second toll motorway as part of a multi-billion euro road –building programme to kick-start the economy.

The Treasury is expected to guarantee the €1.18 billion (£1bn) borrowing costs for the Welsh government to pay for the construction of the new 14-mile M4 relief road in South Wales. The money for the dual carriageway, which will run between junctions 23 and 29 of the M4 and aims to reduce bottlenecks at the Byrnglas Tunnels near Newport, is then likely to be paid back through a drivers’ toll.

But the 3440 AA is among motoring groups reported to be critical of the toll plan, as they argue that it might deter drivers from using the road and therefore hinder its economic effectiveness. The transport charity Sustrans is also said to be critical of the M4 relief road itself, arguing that the Government should instead be investing more money into public transport.

Other projects in the extensive road-building programme, set to be confirmed after the summer’s Comprehensive Spending Review, include a major upgrade of the A1, which will for the first time provide a continuous motorway or dual carriageway link between London and Scotland along the east coast.