Itchen Bridge ranked among UK's highest-earning toll roads

Moneybarn Car Finance looked into the total toll revenues and the cost of a full price toll on a weekday as part of their analysis.

Through this they were able to find out which of the country’s toll roads make the most money and which will cost you the most to use.

While Itchen Bridge was said to have earned a figure in the millions it was still a staggering distance behind the number one toll road.

What are the UK's highest-earning toll roads?

According to the research from Moneybarn the UK's highest-earning toll roads for the past year are:

Itchen Bridge, which connects Woolston with the city centre, earned £3.7 million within the last year.

This was still far behind the number one toll road in the Dartford Crossing in Essex which raked in £215.9m in the last year.

The staggering figure is 2,159 times more than the Whitney toll bridge in Hereford which is in last spot on the list.

At the time of writing the toll for Itchen Bridge is £1 for cars, small vans and small 4x4s, £1.40 for large vans and large 4x4s and £40 for HGVs, Buses/Coaches, Mobile Homes and other large vehicles.

Why is there a toll for Itchen Bridge?

The bridge was constructed in 1977 to create an additional, viable route for motorists travelling in and out of Southampton.

The Itchen Bridge has a minimum toll of £1 for cars and small vans (Image: Newsquest)

Revenue from crossings goes towards a variety of things, including the upkeep of the bridge.

Earlier this year a spokesperson for Southampton City Council shared a large chunk of money will contribute to the ‘most significant programme of maintenance works’ to the bridge since it opened.

They shared: “This year, the council is planning what will be the most significant programme of maintenance works to the Itchen Bridge crossing since it first opened.

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“The maintenance project will ensure that the bridge remains in good working order and will cost up to £5m, providing drainage improvements, resurfacing and the installation of additional safety features.”

Initial plans were in place to close the bridge for eight weeks over the summer to complete the maintenance but this was delayed.

The bridge will still need to be closed at a point in the future for the replacement of the drainage system and resurfacing of the bridge but this date has not yet been confirmed.