Full News Report

15th October 2024

Winter of discontent for Tamar travellers

CORNWALL County councillor Armand Toms has advised people to allow extra time for journeys to Plymouth this winter. 

Telling Morval Parish councillors about the Highways Agency’s £20-million programme of work to update the technology in and around the Saltash tunnel, Cllr Toms warned that a likely eight months of disruption to traffic flows could be a nightmare.

“I would suggest that people who have to travel to Plymouth for work or hospital allow an extra hour or so on their journeys,” he said.

“I don’t want to see people missing doctor’s appointments and the like.”

Some of the tunnel’s cabling is now more than 20 years old and Cllr Toms accepted that National Highways had to replace it but he was still fearful of the impact on traffic and journey times.

Cllr John Kitson suggested that the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee could suspend the tolls to help keep traffic moving, but Cllr Toms said the committee would not agree to such an idea because of the loss of revenue that would result.

The tunnel is the responsibility of National Highways (and, therefore, not financed by the crossing rolls), while the Bridge (and the Torpoint Ferry crossing) are administrated by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee (a mixture of both Cornwall and Plymouth City councillors). 

A spokesman for National Highways said: “The tunnel and its ‘reversible’ lane rely on specialised technology to operate and keep drivers safe.

“The current control system is approaching the end of its life. 

“We’re carrying out an extensive programme of work to replace and upgrade the system to keep everyone using the tunnel safe, provide more reliable journeys and reduce the risk of unplanned closures.” 

And he added: “We understand closures are frustrating, but these disruptions will benefit road users and the local community for many years to come.”

The work is expected to start next month with overnight tunnel closures, and continue until the autumn of next year.