The National Roads Authority (NRA) is investigating the possibility of buying out the National Toll Roads' (NTR) interest in Dublin's West-Link bridge, a Dáil committee was told yesterday.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry, who was appearing before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, was responding to a question from Senator Shane Ross, who said he found the reply "extremely interesting".
Mr Barry emphasised, however, that no negotiations on the matter were taking place with NTR, but that the feasibility of buyout proposals were being looked at by the NRA, with the intention of preparing proposals to put before the Department of Transport.
He said some dialogue between NTR and the NRA was continuing but it had to do with improvements in traffic flow on the West-Link.
Senator Ross pointed out that "only if NTR say 'No', their contract [re the West-Link] cannot be renegotiated".
Mr Barry agreed with Eamon Ryan TD that traffic lights on approach roads to the M50 were not a solution to its congestion problem and that variable tolls would be a more practical solution when it came to controlling traffic flow. It would mean introducing tolls at times of congestion.
Mr Barry said the NRA was happy with present public-private partnership arrangements in building roads, which were "working well" and provided better value for money than was often the case in the past.
Currently €1.3 billion of the total €8. 5 billion to be invested in roads over the next five years came from public-private partnership arrangements, he said.
He agreed with John Ellis TD that regular commercial users of toll roads should be allowed discounts, pointing out that currently a 10 per cent discount was available and that commercial users registered for VAT could also reclaim.
He told Labour's Róisín Shortall that the NRA had no desire to see Dublin develop into a conurbation like Los Angeles, and that in preparing a feasibility study for an outer orbit route around Dublin, this was not part of its agenda. Ms Shorthall noted how development followed such new routes.
"Dublin already outdoes Los Angeles," said Mr Ryan. "Anyone who was in Kildare or Meath during the recent byelection saw that."
Committee members were exercised that the NRA could not promise work on the M50 would not be completed before "2008, 2009." Mr Ellis said: "I don't think the public can accept that. Can anything be done to speed it up?"
Jim Glennon TD predicted chaos on the M50 when the Dublin Port Tunnel opened, with an additional 8,000 to 10,000 commercial vehicles using it daily. "After Ikea, it is going to be a shambles," he said.
Mr Ryan forecast that the M50 would be gridlocked when it opened. Mr Barry felt it would be "very close to capacity" when it opened.
