THE ABOLITION of the tolls on the Tay bridge should help ease congestion on Dundee’s inner ring road during peak periods, it was claimed yesterday.

Bridge manager John Crerar expects some of the toll booth tailbacks that have gummed up South Marketgait at rush hour for years to start easing from Monday when the tolls are removed.

However, he believed it may take a few days for the positive effect on traffic to become fully evident as the span is bracing itself for an influx of free day-trippers.

Mr Crerar said luck will decide who the first ‘free’ motorist is as drivers will not be allowed to queue on the on-ramps and jockey for position.

He said, “We don’t envisage any great problems (on Sunday night) unless thousands of people try to get across the bridge.”

Mr Crerar said “We have had our discussions with the unions—there are no compulsory redundancies, some of the staff are taking early retirement and three are being transferred to the maintenance section—and I think everybody is reasonably happy.”

There are three lanes which filter into the toll-booths from the Dundee on-ramps but one of those lanes is to be coned off over the coming weeks.

The two lanes of traffic will be able to pass through the toll plaza unhindered but cars will have to merge into the offside lane after around 500 yards on the Fife-bound span because work to repair and replace bridge bearings—which has been ongoing for two years—is yet to be completed.

Further traffic management will be sited at the Dundee on-ramp to allow engineering company Cleveland Bridge to remove the toll booths.