Member Article

Government unveils £15 billion UK ‘roads revolution’

The government has announced a £15 billion plan to triple levels of spending by the end of the decade to increase the capacity and condition of England’s roads/

The plan will be announced to Parliament today (1 December 2014) by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.

The government is investing in more than 100 new road schemes over this parliament and next, 84 of which are brand new today.

Over 1,300 new lane miles will be added by schemes being delivered over the next parliament on motorways and trunk roads, tackling congestion and fixing some of the most notorious and longstanding problem areas on the network.

These plans are published today in the first ever ‘Road investment strategy’, which has been developed to keep the population connected and the economy growing.

This includes £1.5 billion of investment to add an extra lane onto key motorways to turn them into smart motorways, boosting connectivity between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Yorkshire.

Patrick McLoughlin said: “Today I am setting out the biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades. It will dramatically improve our road network and unlock Britain’s economic potential.

“Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.

“This government has a long term plan to secure the country’s future and this £15 billion roads programme is demonstration of that. Better roads allow us to travel freely, creating jobs and opportunities, benefiting hardworking families across the country.

“Spending during the next parliament on England’s roads network will be boosted further by maintenance funding worth more than £10 billion across the local and national road network.”

The 84 new road projects outlined today will improve connectivity across the UK, from the north east to the south west. The new investment broken down by region is:

• North east and Yorkshire - 18 schemes worth around £2.3 billion and estimated to create 1,500 construction jobs
• North west – 9 schemes worth £800 million and estimated to create 600 jobs
• Midlands – 17 schemes worth £1.4 billion and estimated to create 900 jobs
• East of England – 15 schemes worth £1.5 billion and estimated to create 1,000 jobs
• London and south east – 18 schemes worth £1.4 billion and estimated to create 900 jobs
• South west – 7 schemes worth £2 billion and estimated to create 1,300 jobs

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .