Councillor warns Clyde Tunnel might need to charge

A Glasgow councillor has warned that a funding gap could mean it might be necessary to charge tolls to use the Clyde tunnel.

SNP councillor Ruairi Kelly called on the Sottish government to provide more funding for the Clyde Tunnel and the city's road network.

The introduction of a toll has been previously considered as an option during budget-setting processes but has never been undertaken.

The Scottish government said Glasgow City Council would receive more than £1.5bn this year to fund local services.

Archive pictures show the Clyde Tunnel open to traffic in the 1960s

The tunnel, which links north-west and south-west Glasgow - was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip on 3 July 1963.

It cost £10.5m to build - the equivalent of £180m in 2023.

It has gone on to become an integral part of the city's road network, carrying more than 25 million vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians every year.

In a letter written by the councillor to the Scottish government's Transport Secretary Mari McAllan, Mr Kelly warned of the financial pressures the city road network was under.

His letter followed a report from council officials that suggested current investment in Glasgow's road infrastructure fell short by £11.2m.

Officials said the 60-year-old tunnel required “significant investment to address necessary repairs” - and recommended spending £16m on it.

The funding received for operation and maintenance is “the same amount per kilometre as for a standard stretch of road”, which an official said “isn’t sufficient for the specific requirements of the tunnel”.

It has been estimated this leads to an annual shortfall of about £820,000.

Mr Kelly, the city convener for neighbourhood services and assets, said he believed the Clyde Tunnel was of national significance.

He said he wanted the tunnel to be funded like a trunk road, warning that if this were not to happen, an alternative could be to consider charging a toll for its use.

'Chronic lack of investment'

Speaking at a council meeting, Mr Kelly said: "The funding doesn’t really take into account the usage of the roads. The Clyde Tunnel gets approximately 65,000 cars through it a day.

"There will be other sections of road that get the same funding that don’t have that volume of traffic on it in a year."

Mr Kelly said austerity, the Covid pandemic and rising inflation had affected the city council's finances.

Labour councillor Stephen Docherty said there had been a “chronic lack of investment” in councils from the Scottish government.

A Scottish government spokesman said: "While Scotland is facing the most challenging budget settlement since devolution due to ongoing UK government austerity.

"This year Glasgow City Council will receive more than £1.5bn to fund local services which equates to an extra £62.6m on last year."