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M4 relief road 'to be financed by Severn Bridge tolls' | M4 relief road 'to be financed by Severn Bridge tolls' |
(35 minutes later) | |
Construction of a £1bn M4 relief road in south Wales could be paid for by the Severn Bridge tolls, the Welsh government has said. | |
Finance Minister Jane Hutt confirmed the plan to MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. | Finance Minister Jane Hutt confirmed the plan to MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. |
She said negotiations with the UK government over the responsibility for the crossings was "very constructive". | She said negotiations with the UK government over the responsibility for the crossings was "very constructive". |
Ms Hutt said she also hoped the cost of tolls could be cut, particularly for lorries and regular users. | Ms Hutt said she also hoped the cost of tolls could be cut, particularly for lorries and regular users. |
Chancellor George Osborne said during his spending review statement in June that he would shortly give details of "impressive" M4 relief road plans. | |
Transport Minister Edwina Hart then announced a public consultation on the road would begin in September although details of the method of funding had still not been confirmed. | |
Mrs Hart said at the time that "addressing the capacity and resilience issues on the M4 around Newport is the top transport challenge that we face in ensuring that Wales has an effective economic infrastructure which improves our competitiveness and access to jobs and services". | |
Plans to ease congestion on the M4 in south Wales by building a relief road around Newport were unveiled by the Welsh government in 2004. | |
Five years later the then Labour-Plaid coalition in Cardiff Bay shelved the idea when the estimated cost rose to £1bn. | |
Speculation in April than an M4 relief road might itself be built and financed as a toll road was dismissed. |