LONDON, England (PNN) - August 5, 2014 - An entrepreneur has gambled his home on building a toll road after becoming frustrated at council delays in clearing a commuter route blocked by a landslip.
Mike Watts is charging motorists £2 per journey to use his bypass made from rolled chippings and avoid the closed section of the A431 between Bath and Bristol.
The route, which opened on Friday, is believed to be the first privately run toll road built in more than 100 years.
Watts saw a market opportunity too good to pass up. A local road had been blocked for some time by a landslip and the state, in all its glory, has fallen down on the job of repairing it. What does an individual do? He answers the demand for a cheap shortcut as opposed to the 14-mile detour the state had recommended.
Quite a bit of his personal funds went in to the project (£150,000), but he feels it will pay off if regular traffic begins flowing on it. Hopefully we will see more people in all countries open up travel on their property, free of state regulation.