I'm confused... Can you explain to me how it works?

Dolph Starbeam

Our toal roads? Would i be right in thinking they are built using Tax payers money? Then why do we need to pay again via the tolls? I just thought of it while i was in England, i drove 200 odd miles, not a single toll and no pot holes anywhere.

L1011

MOG7 wrote: »

Our toal roads? Would i be right in thinking they are built using Tax payers money? Then why do we need to pay again via the tolls? I just thought of it while i was in England, i drove 200 odd miles, not a single toll and no pot holes anywhere.

Toll roads are nearly entirely funded by private equity - the NRA does usually make a payment at the start of the contract but its nothing compared to the total cost. VAT and payments come back from the operator when the road is operational.

There are toll roads in Britain - nearly all of them are bridges or tunnels though, but there is a motorway too. Plus while there might not be 'potholes' the average quality of road surface in the UK is very poor - old and degraded.

Dolph Starbeam

Ah cheers thats un-confused me.

L1011

All the contract details (well, in brief) are on nra.ie if you're feeling bored.

http://nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ProjectTracker/M8RathcormacFermoyBypass/ covers the existign tolled bit of the M8, for instance.

Alun

MYOB wrote: »

Plus while there might not be 'potholes' the average quality of road surface in the UK is very poor - old and degraded.

That must be a different UK to the one I drive in regularly then. Are you sure it's not the UKraine you're thinking of?

Whilst the quality of the newer major N roads here is pretty good, albeit over-engineered in many cases, by and large the quality of pretty much every other road here ranges from bad to downright dangerous. Personally, I'd say that, taken as a whole, the quality of roads in the UK is far better than here. Proper roadside delineation, with reflective markings and cats eyes for a start, even on many B roads.

That's not to say that there aren't any worn out roads in the UK as well, but given the higher traffic loads they have to endure, it's not surprising. And at least over there, they do seem to actually have a pro-active road maintenance program, rather than the reactive, "shovel a bit of cold tarmac on, and stamp on it" approach taken here.

L1011

Alun wrote: »

That must be a different UK to the one I drive in regularly then. Are you sure it's not the UKraine you're thinking of?

Its the one I did 1200 miles in three weeks ago. Their road network is nowhere close to the shining example of excellence many on here are convinced it is; and it has just as many scary holes in the network as we have - motorway to Brighton ends in to a twisty two lane dualler; no motorway from Edinburgh to London; "Cumberland Gap" on the A74 (being resolved, years on) and so on.

The quality of their B roads is better than our R roads on the whole, though.

javaboy

I drove about a 1,000 miles in the UK a few months back. The overall average standard of their roads is higher in fairness but they do have plenty of the same dodgy backroads. I also thought what I saw of their motorways were of a lower standard than ours but a lot of that may be down to age.

Alun

I was referring more to the overall quality of the roads they do have, rather than on any connectivity aspects of the road network as a whole.

The A1, especially north of Newcastle, is a pain in the ass, admittedly, and it's puzzling why it hasn't been resolved. As for Brighton, I don't know the area, but looking at the map it doesn't look that 'windy' and you're going through some rather countrified up-market areas of Sussex there, which might make it prohibitive to build a fully fledged motorway. Anyway, Brighton isn't exactly the centre of the universe, so why it should merit a motorway at all isn't clear.

Anyway, I personally know which of the two countries I'd rather drive 1200 miles in and it certainly isn't here.

L1011

It winds down a hill, seen cars off the sides there more than a few times.

Brighton = population of 480,000 in the conurbation and its a city....