NRA official defends toll hike
A National Roads Authority official has defended the toll for the Kilcock to Kinnegad motorway, which rises 10 cent to €2.50 in January, only three weeks after opening.
Speaking on RTE radio today, NRA head of corporate affairs, Michael Egan, said the early rise in price came about because of economic reasons.
“We have an arrangement that the level of toll is determined through a legal procedure. The authority some time ago published these cost proposals, they were subsequently approved. Based on that the toll for this year was determined for a car at €2.40," he said.
“A standard feature of all our toll schemes is that there is a mechanism to review each year the level of toll and make an adjustment in line with inflation. Under that arrangement inflation justifies a revised toll,” he said.
Mr Egan said “the largest single section of road ever completed in the country” would have major benefits for East-West traffic, as well as Dublin, Sligo and South Donegal.
He also said the value of the toll had to be maintained because revenue generated from road-users would be used to pay off private sector investment in the scheme.
“The adjustment mechanism is there to protect road users against the possibility of the toll company imposing unrestricted toll increases in future,” he added.
