Charging companies for using a new stretch of the A14 in Cambridgeshire will hit businesses hard and result in six-figure bills, according to hauliers.
Proposals for a toll along 12 miles of road built between Ellington and Swavesey in Cambridgeshire were unveiled this week and prompted an angry outburst from the industry.
Paul Dawson, MD Deben Transport estimated that a £3 charge would lead to bills in excess of £144,000 for the Felixstowe firm. “It isn’t good news for anyone, not just hauliers,” he said. “It will cause a lot of hardship. It will throw traffic out all over the place.”
He added: “By the time it’s built [the toll] will be £8 or £9. It’s £11 on the M6 and it’s the same sort of length. What we need to do is go and have a word with our MP who is against it as well as canvass the government to try and think things through.”
A spokesman for the container haulier Maritime Transport said it was aware of the proposals, and added: “We will be working in conjunction with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Freight Transport Association to lobby the government on it.”
Jack Semple, policy director at the RHA, described the government’s plan as “akin to an estuarial crossing in the middle of the Cambridgeshire flatlands, and creating a toll you have to use.”
He said: “It’s the last thing that haulage industry needs and it will damage business and employment in East Anglia. It is particularly concerning given the current competition [between] Felixstowe and other ports.”
Semple added that the additional proposal to demolish a road viaduct to prevent use of the old A14 was “wanton destruction of good road infrastructure. We are already getting a very negative reaction from members to that aspect of the plan”.
The Highways Agency said heavy traffic would have two non-tolled alternative routes and charges would be applied via automatic number plate recognition.
A spokeswoman added that the level of toll had not been fixed and would be around £2 and £3 for LGVs, applying between 6am and 10pm.
