The controversial West Link toll barrier on the M50 is to be removed within the next three years and will be replaced with a new barrier-free tolling system along the whole road.
The new system, which will be implemented by the National Roads Authority (NRA), will mean that the entire road will be tolled, with toll charges based on the amount of the route used.
The decision by the Government followed the collapse of talks between the NRA and the bridge's operator, National Toll Roads (NTR).
Under the plans, the State will buy out the right of NTR to operate a toll plaza on the road, in a compensation package that will be worth about €500 million to the company between 2008 and 2020.
From 2008, NTR will have no role in the operation or setting of tolls on the route and will instead receive either a lump sum or an annual payment, based on the amount of traffic using the bridge in 2007.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen last night welcomed the development as a very positive outcome for users of the M50 and said the current tolling arrangements do not represent value for money for consumers. He said the new proposals provided "certainty on timing, certainty that the bottleneck that is the M50 toll plaza will go, and certainty that we can move to barrier-free tolls".
In a statement last night, the NRA said the West Link toll barrier would be removed by 2008, on completion of the first phase of the M50 upgrade between the Red Cow and M4 junctions on the route. The upgrade is aimed as easing congestion along the route which will see freeflow junctions and an extra lane in each direction on the road.
The toll plaza will however be replaced with a new barrier-free tolling system for the entire route. "The future tolling rates to be set for barrier-free tolling on the M50 will require the completion of a toll/demand management study and the outcome of the statutory processes for the making of a toll scheme," the NRA said.
The money from the new tolls will be used towards the upgrade of the M50 and the payment of compensation to NTR.
In a statement last night NTR said it fully supported the move towards open road tolling, but it was awaiting a formal response from the NRA to its own proposals on the issue.
An electronic tolling expert has already been commissioned to advise on the type of system to be introduced.
Legislation to enforce the system will also be required.
The new system will involve electronic identification of cars using chips or other technology, and for people to then pay online or at pay points, such as in garages, before or after using the road.