National Toll Roads (NTR) has refused to give Dublin City Council any information on traffic volumes crossing the West-Link toll bridge on the M50, including the number of five-axle lorries using the road since their ban from the city centre.
City council officials were yesterday due to give a report to the council's traffic and transport committee on the volume of traffic on the M50 since the introduction on February 19th last of the ban on five-axle heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the city.
Hauliers' representatives had warned the ban would force large numbers of extra lorries to use the M50 to access Dublin Port.
Brendan O'Brien, of the council's roads and traffic department, yesterday apologised to the traffic committee for not being able to supply current information on the number of HGVs using the M50. He had asked NTR on a number of occasions for the figures but it had refused to supply them, he said, and had told him it was under no obligation to give him any information in relation to the West-Link.
"NTR have refused to provide the current data in relation to the HGV numbers. We did request the data but they informed us that they won't release data in relation to West-Link to the city council."
The council's director of traffic, Michael Phillips, said it was possible that NTR was "upset" by the council's management of the M50. The council has previously put pressure on NTR to take steps to ease congestion on the bridge. "We don't always make life easy for NTR. We try to maintain a good relationship with them but maybe we've upset somebody," Mr Phillips said.
A spokesman for NTR said it had received Mr O'Brien's request and had informed him that it supplies information on the M50 to the National Roads Authority (NRA). "The company recommended to Mr O'Brien that he contact the National Roads Authority as it would be a matter for the authority to provide this information."
Meanwhile, traffic on the M50 could be brought to a standstill if a protest by a group of hauliers goes ahead next week. The Road Transport Association, set up in January, says at least 600 hauliers will take part in a protest on the motorway near the toll bridge from 5am on Tuesday.
They hope to block a lane of the motorway in protest at the increased toll charges they have had to pay since the ban on HGVs travelling through the city. They want to see tolls abolished for HGVs and designated lanes put in place for trucks on the M50.
Speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, Michael McMahon, of the association, said members had suffered a loss in productivity of 40 per cent while their daily turnover was also down.
"We will be staying at the protest until we make progress," he said. "We could be staying there all day - it's that serious."
Jimmy Quinn, of the Irish Road Haulage Association, said members would agree with some of the Road Transport Association's complaints but there was little to be gained by inconveniencing the public further.