The money is needed to replace the bearings that support the double dual carriageways linking Dundee with Fife. The work is due to take place over the next two years, and would be the biggest repair programme in the bridge’s 40-year history. The Executive said they were prepared to make only £4.6 million available over two years, leaving the board with a £7 million deficit. But a fresh twist came later, when it was reported that Transport Minister Nicol Stephen signalled he may be prepared to look again at the case for financial help for the bridge.

Today Councillor Arbuckle said, “Any suggestion there is an increase in Tay Road Bridge tolls will only accentuate the existing unfair position. As a regular commuter I pay £200 per year to cross the bridge, and this increase would bring it up to around £250.

“Hundreds and hundreds of Fife residents who are regular users of the bridge would face that expense too. This comes at a time when the abolition of the Skye Bridge tolls look imminent after ministers accepted they’re wrong in principle. With the Skye Bridge company receiving a £40 million pay-off to stop, compared to the £10-£12 million requested by the Tay Bridge Board, it seems a very unfair situation.”

Councillor Arbuckle noted some £30 million had been collected in tolls from the Tay Road Bridge since it opened in the mid-1960s, having cost £4.5 million to build.

He said the building costs were due to be paid off by 2016, and this had been on target until being hit with the recurring costs of repairs, adding, “Twenty-five per cent of tolls collected go to pay staff wages, with a further 30% going to cover finance charges. I was looking forward to a time when the bridge would be toll free as part of the national road network but, as things stand, motorists are getting fleeced.”