Maroni: “The Pedemontana will be toll-free for everyone, throughout 2015”

“There will be no toll for section A of the Pedemontana and for the Varese and Como bypasses throughout 2015; after that we’ll decide what to do.” This was Roberto Maroni’s response to the news, published this morning by our newspaper. And there is more. The President of Lombardy Region also established the opening date, which will be 24 January, although for the Como bypass, the time may vary a little. This very determined and clear position appears to leave no room for any objections.

“Since July, we’ve been the main shareholders of the work, through the holding company ASAM. From Pedemontana, they can say what they want, but it’s a sign that they aren’t well-informed. They’re only the people carrying out the project,” Maroni continued.

The President also rejected the objections from Pedemontana who, on seeing a report from the news agency, said that, at the moment, there are no official documents on the opening, and that, in any case, there is a general agreement with CIPE (the Interdepartmental Committee for Economic Planning), that establishes the tolls in accordance with the tables that VareseNews published, as the company itself indicated.

“The formal documents will come. In the meantime, the political decision has been taken by the person that has the power to take it,” Maroni said. “Moreover, I met Minister Lupi, yesterday, who will be present at the opening on 24 January, and Luca Lotti, who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to deal with CIPE. We also talked about the Brescia-Bergamo-Milano section, and the Region will take on the responsibility of reviewing a financial plan for the work, providing €20 million for 2015 alone. Of course, we’re not worried about Section A of the Pedemontana, or the Varese and Como bypasses, where the tolls for the same year would be much less than half that sum. For the moment, we’re taking this responsibility, and this will also be advantageous for Pedemontana, because the people will get used to using the roads; then, we’ll decide what to do later on.”

This latest news, which was triggered by our service report on the toll, uncovers problems not only of communication between the subjects involved in the Pedemontana, but also some critical political points. The top management of Pedemontana were chosen by a political majority that depended hinged on the partnership of Podestà – Formigoni. Today, these two cannot be very popular to the new partner.

 

“The opening of Section A of the Pedemontana to traffic, on 24 January, and the certainty of no toll being levied for the whole of 2015 on the Varese and Como bypasses are a precious Christmas present for Varese Province and for the whole of Lombardy.” However, Cattaneo did not miss the opportunity to taunt the Government and the Region. “These are two great pieces of news from Minister Lupi and President Maroni, but we ask them for further reassurances about the completion of the whole job. We hope that Lombardy Region works so that the seeds of good government sown in past years will soon produce their promised harvest.”