Minns emphasised that he has yet to decide,but outlined the unfairness of the existing system by noting one-way tolls on the government-owned bridge and tunnel had risen by just 20¢ to $4.20 since 2009,while those on the privately operated M2 had jumped from $4.40 to nearly $10.
Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday at a tunnelling site for the Western Harbour Tunnel on Sydney’s north shore.Louise Kennerley
“There’s got to be some essential equity when it comes to how people move in and around the city,” he said.
A into Sydney’s toll roads by former competition watchdog chairman Allan Fels has recommended the revenue from two-way tolls on the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel,along with the Eastern Distributor,be used to lower charges across the motorway network.
Fels has said he can’t see how imposing two-way tolls on the bridge and tunnel can be avoided because the government’s $6.7 billion investment in the would be wasted otherwise.
However,Minns on Wednesday said he would consider two-way tolling on the bridge and the tunnel only if it meant lower prices for the majority of motorists who use toll roads every day. “The report calls for it,but quite literally I’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” he said.
Transport for NSW deputy secretary Camilla Drover (left),and Roads Minister John Graham tour part of the Western Harbour Tunnel project on Wedneday.News Corp Australia
His remarks come a day after Roads Minister John Graham said the Fels report made a “strong case” for two-way charging on the three motorways.
Macquarie analysts estimate bidirectional tolls would generate about $8 billion by 2060 in today’s dollars,which could be funnelled into lowering charges in Sydney’s south and west.
They calculate that existing Labor electorates will bear about $85 billion of the toll burden over the next 37 years if nothing changes,compared to about $37 billion for Liberal seats.
However,two-way charges would open Minns to accusations of a backflip on his pre-election position that “there should be no new tolls on existing roads”.
The Western Harbour Tunnel will connect the north and south between Waverton and Birchgrove.NSW government
Tens of thousands of motorists a day will have to if his government decides to impose bidirectional charges on the harbour crossings. It would mostly hit the hip pockets of north shore,northern beaches and eastern suburbs residents.
At present,only southbound motorists on the Harbour Bridge and Tunnel,and northbound journeys on the Eastern Distributor,are charged.
Comprising twin 6.5 kilometre-tunnels when completed in 2028,the Western Harbour Tunnel will be Sydney’s third harbour motorway,linking the Warringah Freeway on the lower north shore and the WestConnex interchange at Rozelle in the inner west.
About a kilometre of tunnelling from Cammeray for the project has been completed as excavation equipment carves its way under the Warringah Freeway.
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