Liverpool's Queensway tunnel faces £7m beauty treatment

by Andy Farmer. Published Fri 30 Jul 2010 17:11

A scheme for spending £7m on a facelift for the Queensway is being questioned by Mersey Tunnel Users.

The project, as part of a recent spending programme planned to pump over £20m into famous Mersey tunnels, has cast a cloud of suspicion over the Budget Britain spirit of local authorities.

The tiles which comprise the interior of the underwater road are to be painstakingly reclad.

Coming at a time when funding for public sector jobs in the Liverpool City Region has been axed more brutally than in any other part of the country, cynicism of Merseytravel's spending sense is rife.

A spokesman for the Mersey Tunnels Users Association said: "It seems ludicrous that the cost of this cladding has doubled since this project was put forward in September.

"While it is important to maintain tunnel safety, we are concerned that Merseytravel may not be getting value for their money."

He went on to say "the toll fees should be abolished because they are a blight on the Merseyside economy. The two tunnels ought to be made part of the national road network."

The splash-out includes plans to replace a fuel tank at a Wallasey depot that is haemorrhaging diesel fuel. It's not the Gulf of Mexico, but it will cost £75,000 from a money pot funded by toll fees and council tax.