Pedemontana toll-free? Government asked to provide €500 million

How much will it cost to drive along the Pedemontana for free? Five hundred million euros. This is the sum that a group of Northern League MPs have requested in order to eliminate the toll, but only on the Varese and Como bypasses.

THE PROPOSAL – The Northern League MPs, Molteni, Guidesi, Giorgetti and Bossi, have put forward an amendment to the stability law, asking the government to bear the cost of the millions of euros that, according to the economic plan of the Pedemontana, should come from toll collection: €200 million, in 2016, €150 million, in 2017 and €150 million, in 2018. The total: €500 million. If Parliament approves the proposal, the company will have 30 days to produce a new economic plan that does not include tolls on the Varese and Como bypasses.

THE PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE – The thorny issue has now started its journey through Parliament, in Rome, after it overcame its first big obstacle: whether or not it was admissible. The amendment was declared admissible, and so, next Sunday, will be discussed by the Budget Committee of the House.

THE GOVERNMENT – Thus, the controversial issue is likely to remain in the hands of the government, who will have to find the large sum necessary to cover the amendment, in an issue that is becoming increasingly political. “If the amendment is approved, the two bypasses will become toll-free, otherwise they’ll remain toll roads, because that’s what the government has decided,” Roberto Maroni explained.

The bar was raised even higher by the plea by the Secretary of the Northern League in Lombardy, Paolo Grimoldi. “We hope that all of the MPs elected in Lombardy will vote in favour of this amendment, regardless of the party they belong to,” he said.

THE PROTESTS – And while the proposal starts to make its way in Rome, the issue is becoming increasingly heated in Varese and Como. Since the toll must be paid by everyone, with the arrival of December, fewer people are travelling along the Pedemontana, and, at the same time, the traffic on the old roads has returned to the levels there were before the opening of the bypass. And even those who choose to drive along the new road, do not have easy, as the payment system is still suffering a number of problems.