£1400 Saved: How Scrapping Severn Bridge Tolls Unleashed Welsh Commuters

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Magor, Wales – The Prince of Wales Bridge, a lifeline between Wales and England, hides a treasure trove of quirky facts and financial ghosts that go far beyond its toll-free lanes.

Baffle the Wind, Save the Commute: High winds across the Severn Estuary meant frequent speed restrictions. The solution? Baffle plates. Yes, those unassuming 10-foot-high additions along the bridge’s sides act as windbreakers, dramatically reducing lateral wind loads and keeping traffic flowing where the old Severn Bridge would have been closed.

A Railway Ghost & “The Shoots”: Few realize the bridge runs parallel to the historic Severn Railway Tunnel, which has carried trains under the estuary since 1886. The bridge’s central section even crosses “The Shoots,” the navigable channel used by ships heading to the Ports of Bristol and Sharpness.

Forget scenic overlooks; the best view of the bridge is probably from the Rapid Access Train. This tiny diesel-powered monorail runs underneath the entire crossing, allowing engineers to access maintenance stations inside the pylons. Though plagued with issues early on, the RAT is back in service, ensuring the bridge remains safe.

Building a bridge on shifting mudflats with a 48-foot tidal range isn’t for the faint of heart. Engineers used colossal concrete caissons-open-bottomed boxes weighing up to 2,000 tons each-for the approach viaduct foundations.

These were lowered onto the estuary bed during brief low-tide windows, creating an artificial archipelago on which the bridge would stand.

Birds & Turbidity: Environmentalists had serious concerns during construction, particularly regarding the muddy waters and the disruption to migrating birds.

Surveys since the bridge’s completion revealed that curlews, dunlins, and lapwings adapted by flying over the bridge, while oystercatchers and turnstones opted to fly underneath. Mallards even took to roosting directly on the concrete pillars! However, there were trade-offs, including the temporary increase in water turbidity, causing a decline in the bed of eelgrass in the river.

Remember the “Severn TAG” and the annual toll increases? Those tolls were a constant source of frustration, with the VAT reduction in 2008 not immediately passed on to drivers. In fact, even after the government announced tolls would be lowered to £5.40 in 2018 (due to the removal of VAT), the charges were increased instead.

The scrapping of tolls in December 2018 was a moment of jubilation, marking the end of a long era of financial strain for Welsh commuters and businesses. The removal of the tolls effectively shaved up to £1,400 per year off the costs for regular commuters, and saw around 25 million journeys a year becoming free.

The Prince of Wales Bridge isn’t just a crossing – it’s a living story of Welsh resilience, financial battles, and the unexpected ways humans and nature coexist. So, next time you drive across, remember the engineering feats, the ecological adaptations, and the ghosts of tolls past echoing beneath your tires.