http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2017-07-21/severn-bridge-tolls-to-be-scrapped-next-year/

free from next year. haven’t been that way for a while but can only be a good thing.

Awesome indeed, its between me and BPW!

Even more awesome when you live down here! It’s a major cost for anyone commuting, so should help the local economy a bit. Mind you, the traffic would have to get worse 🙁

coming soon: “bridge too busy, we need to build another one!”

😀

I wish they’d build tunnels. That section of coast would look lovely without those bridges blocking the way.

Orrrr but I love the wide bit of road after the tolls. Bit F1 bit mad max!

Stoner – Member

coming soon: “bridge too busy, we need to build another one!”

There is that, some thinktank did the sums a little while back.

It’s not rocket surgery really. The M4 can’t handle the amount of traffic we have now, yeah the tolls are a massive bottle neck but on a bad day (today will be utter hell for anyone trying to come West) the queue starts for the Brynglas Tunnels about by Bath – yeah you queue for the tolls, but only to get to the next queue.

The hope is that by removing the tolls we’ll encourage more people to come to Wales via the M4, which seems counter intuitive to me. Okay they might want to come on a non-bank holiday weekend when the road is fairly quiet which would be great for tourism…. but…. I don’t know if £6 is much of a barrier to anyone thinking of a weekend or even a day trip away.

If we’re going to encourage people to use the M4, I think a better suggestion would be to scrap the tolls at weekends but keep them Monday to Friday and use the money to pay for the Newport by-pass. It’s going to cost £1bn so we can have a 3 lane motorway all the way from London to Swansea.

The newport bypass needs doing along with this.

I just see it as finally not charging the English to get into Wales 😀

@molgrips
It did look good without the bridges. And now its so noisy:( from absolute quiet to 24 hour din.

However, I will start going to Cardiff and surrounds alot more when the fees are gone. Currently Wales seems like the other side of the world even though its less than a mile away.

Good to see the true Bridge Trolls go away. SSc Ltd, money for old rope!

I wish someone would start a hovercraft service from Cardiff to Bristol, centre to centre. That’d be ace.

Whilst I think it is a good idea I think there should be a small charge for maintenance. Why does the government remove anything that makes some money and then moan about lack of funds?

If it was setup as free flow surely that would ensure traffic would ease up on the m4 if that is a consideration? Be thankful that its not like the dartford crossing where they put up the charge to fund the free flow system and the traffic is still rubbish and then plan to open another tunnel not 2miles away. Funnily I can only see the charge going up again despite saying they would remove the charge once the crossing was paid for

Why does the government remove anything that makes some money and then moan about lack of funds?

I think the idea is that it will provide an economic stimulus greater than the cost. Same reason all our motorways aren’t tolls like they are in lots of other countries.

Living in Bristol I can see this leading to an overnight jump in house prices over the bridge. For me it’ll mean I pop over the bridge for shorter rides that I wouldn’t normally do.

A good news day – when I saw it on the election promises I thought they’d never go through with it

Yep. Chepstow property prices about to rocket. The area just over the bridge has already gone up a lot in anticipation of this.

I don’t know if £6 is much of a barrier to anyone thinking of a weekend or even a day trip away.

It puts me off. I take the bike over occasionally to ride the FoD and S Wales trails but with petrol and parking plus tolls it becomes quite a lot for a quick blast so I stay local.

I think the idea is that it will provide an economic stimulus greater than the cost.

I wonder what the economic costs will be when everyone is snarled up in traffic jams?

When I was a kid it was 50p to go each way!

Depends (literally) on your viewpoint. Was climbing at Wyndcliffe last weekend and the (old) bridge enhances the view IMHO – but then you can’t actually see the coast from there, just the bridge.

I cycled over the old bridge last week and was surprised to see there was still a toll for motorised vehicles. The Skye bridge toll seemed to last about 10 minutes. The Severn bridge must have payed its way a long time ago.

There is that, some thinktank did the sums a little while back.

Certainly heard comments about having a bridge further up. You have the Severn Bridge or Gloucester and nothing between.

molgrips » I wish they’d build tunnels. That section of coast would look lovely without those bridges blocking the way.

Much nicer to cycle over a bridge than through a long tunnel.

Certainly heard comments about having a bridge further up

To connect the large areas of low populated countryside you mean?

I cycled over the old bridge last week and was surprised to see there was still a toll for motorised vehicles.

Of course. If the old one was free noone would use the new one would they?

free from next year. haven’t been that way for a while but can only be a good thing.

Neither bridge has ever been free, as far as I can recall.

molgrips – Member
I wish they’d build tunnels. That section of coast would look lovely without those bridges blocking the way.

How do you know? You can’t possibly know what it looked like before the first bridge was built, and in any case there was a railway bridge across at Old Passage long before the first road bridge was built.
I can remember standing at Aust ferry underneath the bridge while it was still being built, and I think both are beautiful, elegant structures, the old bridge looks lovely at night when it’s lit up, I wish you could walk across the new one to be able to take photos.
Removing the tolls will make things easier for me and other logistics drivers, because we have to pay our own tolls, then claim the money back, just being able to drive straight through without queuing will make things smoother.
The biggest hold-up either way is the M32 into Bristol, and Cribbs Causeway, the delays are horrendous.

You can’t possibly know what it looked like before the first bridge was built,

I’ve seen photos. And I’ve stood on the shore with half of the sweeping estuary view blocked out by concrete.

To connect the large areas of low populated countryside you mean?

In part, but as the river is narrower and a bit more sheltered you can keep the trucks running in worse weather than is possible on the current severn bridges.

There was a Lydney/Sharpness railway bridge until it got hit by a boat…

Wicked! I’ll be going to FoD less as S Wales for less $ appeals lots. Why my little-ass van cost more than an ex’s hulking great motorhome to use it never made any sense.

My boss is looking forward to this as it’ll save him a fortune in commuting costs. Though it’s still some 18 months away and the toll will go up before then!

All this talk of a boost to Welsh economy makes me wonder how true that will turn out to be. Big retail parks like Cribbs offer a huge volume of free parking and will be cheaper to get to with no toll on return, than say paying a full days parking in Cardiff’s NCPs.

How do you know? You can’t possibly know what it looked like before the first bridge was built, and in any case there was a railway bridge across at Old Passage long before the first road bridge was built.
I can remember standing at Aust ferry underneath the bridge while it was still being built, and I think both are beautiful, elegant structures, the old bridge looks lovely at night when it’s lit up, I wish you could walk across the new one to be able to take photos.
Removing the tolls will make things easier for me and other logistics drivers, because we have to pay our own tolls, then claim the money back, just being able to drive straight through without queuing will make things smoother.
The biggest hold-up either way is the M32 into Bristol, and Cribbs Causeway, the delays are horrendous.

Molgrips might be older than you think the bridge at Aust was finished in 66.

There was never a railway bridge at Old Passage. The Grand Union Railway stopped at New Passage.

The bridges are OK. But living in the shadow of them and the horrendous noise from a once quiet location is depressing.

We are be built over…. 🙁 Progress I suppose.

PS The bridge name of the Second Severn Crossing is called the “The Shoots Bridge”. I can walk out there BTW :-)…bit iffy though.

All this talk of a boost to Welsh economy makes me wonder how true that will turn out

Well I live in Cardiff, and lots of Bristol jobs just weren’t economically viable when I was younger given the extra £150/mo. So the money didn’t make it across the bridge. But without the toll, there’d be people in Cardiff working Cardiff jobs but also the Bristol ones they can now afford to do. And all those people who do commute now will have another £150 each month to spend in Cardiff.

Also it might persuade more businesses to locate in Wales. £20 a time for the lorries is steep.

Sounds like there are loads of riders local to the bridges from the above posts. Perhaps a riding group could be setup 🙂

Molgrips are you local 😉

They’ve made a song and dance about this, while keeping very quiet about the shelving of the electrification of the railways to S Wales…

Tories hiding away bad stuff

The cynic in me reckons they’ve decided to do this (I never believed they would) to cover up the farce that is our railways

Molgrips are you local

Cardiff mun. Cycled over the bridge many many times in my way to Bristol though.

There was going to be a Cardiff ride tomorrow but they’ve all sacked off now the pansies.

Neither bridge has ever been free, as far as I can recall.

I meant I’ve not been that way in a while, not it’s not been that way in a while….

I get the extortionate cost for lorries and positive impact on business when they’re shelved. And I hope I’m wrong regarding retail. I lived in Cardiff for 15 years so have a lot of fond memories of South Wales

And the money I save on bridge tolls getting to CwmCarn can be spent on cake

There was never a railway bridge at Old Passage. The Grand Union Railway stopped at New Passage.

The bridge wasn’t that far, a mile from Sharpness so about 5miles south of the Passage.

?

The bridge wasn’t that far, a mile from Sharpness so about 5miles south of the Passage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Railway_Bridge

The pluses are it extends the M4 corridor for businesses. But the traffic is going to get even more horrific.

There was a report that predicted a 17% increase in traffic by holding the toll, dropping it could well increase that. The traffic west bound in the evening is already bad as it is and will only get worse.
I predict that the Almondsbury junction of the M4 M5 and the M32 will be heavily congested with commuters from Wales.
The economies of both sides will benefit and it will be fantastic for me personally