For Whom the Tamar Tolls

Four shillings and sixpence or 4/6 (22½p) is the price of a return car journey across the Tamar Bridge. A single toll was initially 3s (15p) and for lorries 14s (70p) and £1 return. The road bridge is part of the A38 dual carriageway linking Devon and Cornwall and was constructed from 1959 and opened to traffic at 6am on 24 October 1961 replacing the Saltash Ferry. Plymouth City Council and Cornwall County Council who financed the bridge have reviewed the toll charge.

The threepence (thruppence) reduction for cars would probably buy one portion of fish and chips. The toll booths are on the eastern side of the River Tamar and at this time were collected when travelling westbound and eastbound, however the toll booths have since been removed for the westbound carriages and tolls are paid once when entering Devon. Increases to trans-county traffic has called for solutions to the frequent congestion especially in the summer months and ideas such as a park and ride bus service or a new road system higher up the estuary are in discussion. Work to add two additional orthotropic cantilever lanes either side of the bridge was completed in 2001 to aid the weight-bearing for traffic.