An ambitious US$23.5 billion plan to triple levels of spending by the end of the decade to increase the capacity and condition of England’s roads was announced to Parliament today 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 US$2.4 billion of investment to add an extra lane to 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 US$23.5 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 US$16 billion across the local and national road network.
Following the announcement, the6983 Freight Transport Association (FTA) voiced its support of the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) which has been announced by the 1837 Department for Transport this morning – saying that it is “good news for the freight and logistics sector.”
Malcolm Bingham, FTA head of Road Network Management Policy said: “FTA believes that this investment announcement has significant benefits for the freight industry in setting improvements to journey reliability. The freight and logistics industry relies upon reliable road infrastructure to ensure that products are moved efficiently and at reasonable cost.”
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 US$2.4 billion of investment to add an extra lane to 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 US$23.5 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 US$16 billion across the local and national road network.
Following the announcement, the
Malcolm Bingham, FTA head of Road Network Management Policy said: “FTA believes that this investment announcement has significant benefits for the freight industry in setting improvements to journey reliability. The freight and logistics industry relies upon reliable road infrastructure to ensure that products are moved efficiently and at reasonable cost.”
