A convoy of heavy goods vehicles and lorries will attempt to blockade the M4 toll plaza near Enfield, Co Meath, this morning in protest at what drivers claim are excessive rates of tolls.
The hauliers will attempt to test a level of service agreement which obliges toll operator Eurolink to ensure motorists get from a point 30m before the barrier to a point 5m after the barrier in 25 seconds or less.
The hauliers said the toll rate at €12.40 for a round trip could result in a bill of almost €50 a day for a lorry. This would add up to €12,000 a year or almost €50,000 a year for a modest haulage firm with four lorries.
The number of new tolls is also angering the hauliers. According to the association, tolls at the M1, M50 and now the M4 are too close together and impose an intolerable burden on lorries which travel these routes regularly.
Eurolink, the company operating the plaza, regarded the demonstration as "unnecessary". It had written to the hauliers twice inviting them to discuss the issue, it said in a statement.
"Hauliers can reclaim the VAT element of the toll they pay, so the net cost of a single trip for the largest trucks works out at around €5.10," it added.
Irish Road Haulage Association president Jimmy Quinn said the hauliers would be better able to bear the cost if they were given some discount for bulk usage, but he pointed out that the Eazy Pass tags which give hauliers a discount on the M1, East-Link and West-Link tolls, do not operate on the M4.
The 39-km motorway was opened 10 months ahead of schedule on December 12 last and was hailed as an example of how public-private partnerships could deliver great efficiency in road-building projects.
However, since then the hauliers have said they will not use the motorway, preferring instead to use the old route through Enfield, Moyvally and Clonard.
Conversely, car drivers who pay a toll of just €2.50 appear to be using the new motorway, leading to anger in the nearby towns that signposts pointing to shopping areas and restaurants have not been erected.
Louise Kennedy, of the Monastery Inn, in Clonard, said the roads authority had promised to erect signs at the start of the M4, heading west, pointing to nearby towns of Clonard, Moyvalley and Longwood.
But the signs have not appeared and she says business at her restaurant, which employs 26 people, could be damaged.
"The won't put up a sign for us because people would avoid the toll. When the toll was being planned, we were told there would be nothing to worry about as there would be no service areas on the motorway, and signs would point to our towns.
"Well, there might be some signs for other towns but not ones which direct people away from the toll booths."
Meanwhile, the National Roads Authority has moved to clarify the agreement with Eurolink which provides for action should queues build up at the booths, as the hauliers anticipate will happen this morning.
A spokesman for the roads authority said that should the traffic be delayed, a financial penalty would ultimately by incurred by Eurolink - but payable to the authority.
The spokesman said the widely held belief that the barriers would have to rise when queues develop was mistaken.
"It is a level of service agreement designed to be a bit of a carrot and stick. There is monitoring and performance would be regularly reviewed but a once-off queue would not amount to a red card.
"If it continued to be a problem, there would be a financial penalty payable to the NRA,"he added.
