BBC NEWS | UK | England | Tunnel tolls rise to boost safety

Mersey tunnel tolls will have to rise to cover an estimated �14m safety improvements scheme.

Experts say the Queensway road tunnel - which links Liverpool and Birkenhead - needs revamping to meet European safety standards.

But Mark Dowd, chairman of tunnel operators Merseytravel, says tolls will have to rise to meet the cost of the revamp.

A report by German motorists' group Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club (ADAC), pointed out Queensway fell below safety standards met by other European tunnels.

Now independent consultants will work on the criticisms, which highlight how traffic runs in both directions in one tube inside the tunnel.

Mr Dowd said: "Safety is always our top priority.

"Merseytravel volunteered to take part in this survey - we need to deal with the legacy of the way in which the Tunnels were built in comparison with modern practices."

Criticisms included in the report include:

No emergency lanes or lay-bys

Narrow traffic lanes and emergency walkways

Emergency exits are too far apart

No automatic detection of traffic congestion

Emergency telephones not soundproofed

Fire ventilation system not automatically activated in fire

Tunnel not automatically closed in fire

Tony Donnelan, spokesman for Merseytravel, said: "Heavy goods wagons are prohibited from using Queensway but buses use it.

"You can imagine the mess there would be if there was a crash, with the amount of fuel and people on board.

"We would like to make a start as soon as the consultants make their recommendations, over the next year, and get the work done in four years."

The �3.2m creation of new escape passages is already under way in the Kingsway tunnel, which opened in the 1970s, linking Wallasey to Liverpool.

Two tubes

But unlike Queensway, Kingsway uses two tubes within the tunnel to separate the traffic flows.

ADAC carried out its 2002 'Eurotest' safety survey on 30 road tunnels throughout the European Union.

The Kingsway tunnel rated 'good', coming seventh.

Queensway rated 'acceptable', coming twenty-first.


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