A £6.1 billion programme of road improvements has been announced by Transport Minister Jesse Norman as part of the £23 billion already earmarked for upgrading England’s road network. The ambitious programme is designed to help road users by reducing journey times, driving down congestion and ramping up capacity on key roads.
Over the next six months, the money will help fund 55 road improvement schemes, including opening eight roads, consulting on ten and finalising plans for 29 others. Major projects include adding capacity to sections of the A1 in Northumberland and at the Colchester bypass. Improvements are also expected at Junction 19 of the M6. There will also be an upgraded link between the Port of Liverpool and the motorway, along with a ‘new strategic corridor’ to the south-west, via the controversy-dogged A303. The route for the new A19 Downhill Lane junction has also been published.
Facing the road network’s future
Unveiling the funding programme, Jesse Norman said,
“Road users across England should soon be seeing the benefits of these improvements in their daily lives, which are designed to link people better with their jobs, friends, family and local amenities, as well as connecting businesses with customers.”
“Over the next six months we expect to roll out our vital upgrade plan — taking next steps on £6.1 billion-worth of schemes and seeking to hear from local people, organisations and businesses to help shape our plans and ensure they benefit local communities.”
The £6.1 billion follows on from the government’s allocation of £1.2 billion in January, a figure that was roundly criticised by councils at the time for not being enough to improve England’s struggling road network, as local authorities struggle to clear a £12 billion backlog of road repairs. The funding commitment will also help deal with the National Audit Office’s claims that decisive action is needed to safeguard road investment projects deemed at risk.
Good news for drivers
The announcement has been well received by organisations representing private and commercial road users. Both the RAC and the AA have given the programme their official approval, with the AA’s Edmund King stating that,
“As well as increasing capacity and smoothing traffic flow, we believe that significant road safety benefits can be to be achieved especially with the A1 improvements.”
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, argues that it sends a clear signal that travel needs are being taken seriously by the government:
“The fear has always been that road programmes, like the morning mists, have a tendency to fade away before our eyes. This latest unveiling is therefore a particularly welcome demonstration that the promised money is not only available but is being spent on schemes that really matter.”
Bodies representing haulage and manufacturing are also optimistic about the funding programme. The Road Haulage Association’s chief executive Richard Burnett stated,
“We hope that this investment will reduce congestion, reduce journey times which in turn will improve delivery times. For road hauliers, responsible for moving 85% of the UK economy, the road network is their place of work.”
And Chris Richards, Head of Business Environment Policy at EEF, which represents British manufacturers, said that the announcement “brings reassurance that post-election, the government remains committed to the Road Investment Strategy which has begun the task of fixing England’s strategic road network.”
Scheme highlights
East
A12 Colchester bypass widen – Consultation
A5 to M1 link – Scheme opening ceremony
South East
M27 Southampton junctions (London and South East) – Consultation
M271 Redbridge roundabout – Preferred route announcement
London East
A12 M25 to Chelmsford – Consultation
North East
A19 Downhill Lane – Preferred route announcement
A1 Scotswood to North Brunton – Preferred route announcement
A1 Northumberland (Yorkshire and the North East) – Preferred route announcement
Midlands
A52 Nottingham junctions – Consultation
M42 J6 – Preferred route announcement
Yorkshire
M621 J1-7 improvements – Consultation
A1 Leeming to Barton – Scheme opening
North West
M6 Junction 19 improvements – Preferred route announcement
M56 J11a – Preferred route announcement
A585 Windy Harbour – Preferred route announcement
South West
A358 Taunton-Southfields – Preferred route announcement
A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross – Preferred route announcement
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester – Preferred route announcement
The PetrolPrices view
The announcement is great news, particularly given the austerity restrictions that have been put in place on public spending. However, does the government’s new plan for road improvements go far enough? The Chancellor says that we can only leave austerity behind us through strong fiscal policies, a good Brexit deal and higher productivity. Investing in our road and rail infrastructure as heavily as the US intends to invest in its infrastructure would contribute towards greater productivity figures and ultimately a stronger economy. We can only hope that further infrastructure funding will be announced in the autumn budget.
Do you believe £6.1 billion is enough to whip England’s road network into shape? Or is the funding announced by the government too little, too late? Let us know your opinions below.
The government are unable to repair existing roads with increasing amounts of pot holes and roads breaking up, money would be better invested in repairing these roads properly rather than just fill the hole in.
Considering that goverment collected 30bn directly from motorists in 2016.. 6.1bn sounds like 5th of the way ahead. Would you be considered fast enough crawling at 6MPH in 30MPH zone? I don’t think so…funny enough you will not be able to go faster due to chronically underinvested road infrastructure. Only when they start putting all the money back on the roads it will be enough. As well covers all backlog since 1972.
They recently filled in potholes on a road near me, the potholes were back within 24hrs of the work finishing, they need to find something more long lasting to use to make the roads.
Improvements to Junction 19 of the M6 – they’ve been working on that stretch for 30 years and they still haven’t finished?
That’s good news for all those people that use those roads. I live in Grimsby and the main route out of town is the A180, a concrete road. In a recent survey conducted by a local news reporter the noise level on the 26 mile route averaged 85db. Users of this road have been complaining about the noise ever since the road was built some 30 years ago, but we always get fobbed off by the highways agency saying the road is not failing. When are the Highways Agency going to do something about it? Maybe MSE can start a campaign on behalf of the road users of this area?
Like anything else money is required and welcome, we would all like to see more but something is better than nothing. Investing in and improving our main infrastructure, and connecting areas of the country previously served by poor routes is great for local businesses and jobs in those areas.
On the other hand we would also like to see improvements to our local minor roads that are full of potholes, but much of the blame here lies with local authorities who use cheap contractors to do the work, and like another reviewer stated, these repairs are here today and gone tomorrow, a total waste of taxpayer’s money. Give us a bit more cash to get the job done properly.
Why no improvement to the M25 junctions with the A2 and M20? One has to pass 4 sets of traffic lights when sliproad bypasses would do (such as the A2 westbound to M25 northbound slip overpass).
Also what is it with the idiotic traffic lights that change from green to red as ypu approach at 3am with not a soul else in sight?
Britain will always have a worker productivity problem when it refuses to take lessons in road building and traffic management from almost every other EU country, and they all know how to do roads better.
Whatever they are being taught on their courses here is fuelling congestion.
The government spends so much money for road improvements. With all these work, are there any competent ‘inspectors’ to ensure that the work has been done properly ? As far as I’ve witnessed, especially with so called road repairs, they have cracked again within a few days !! This is how money is thrown away – contracting incompetent companies overlooked by incompetent ‘inspectors’ if there are such people !!
The government are unable to repair existing roads with increasing amounts of pot holes and roads breaking up, money would be better invested in repairing these roads properly rather than just fill the hole in.
Considering that goverment collected 30bn directly from motorists in 2016.. 6.1bn sounds like 5th of the way ahead. Would you be considered fast enough crawling at 6MPH in 30MPH zone? I don’t think so…funny enough you will not be able to go faster due to chronically underinvested road infrastructure. Only when they start putting all the money back on the roads it will be enough. As well covers all backlog since 1972.
They recently filled in potholes on a road near me, the potholes were back within 24hrs of the work finishing, they need to find something more long lasting to use to make the roads.
Improvements to Junction 19 of the M6 – they’ve been working on that stretch for 30 years and they still haven’t finished?
That’s good news for all those people that use those roads. I live in Grimsby and the main route out of town is the A180, a concrete road. In a recent survey conducted by a local news reporter the noise level on the 26 mile route averaged 85db. Users of this road have been complaining about the noise ever since the road was built some 30 years ago, but we always get fobbed off by the highways agency saying the road is not failing. When are the Highways Agency going to do something about it? Maybe MSE can start a campaign on behalf of the road users of this area?
Like anything else money is required and welcome, we would all like to see more but something is better than nothing. Investing in and improving our main infrastructure, and connecting areas of the country previously served by poor routes is great for local businesses and jobs in those areas.
On the other hand we would also like to see improvements to our local minor roads that are full of potholes, but much of the blame here lies with local authorities who use cheap contractors to do the work, and like another reviewer stated, these repairs are here today and gone tomorrow, a total waste of taxpayer’s money. Give us a bit more cash to get the job done properly.
Why no improvement to the M25 junctions with the A2 and M20? One has to pass 4 sets of traffic lights when sliproad bypasses would do (such as the A2 westbound to M25 northbound slip overpass).
Also what is it with the idiotic traffic lights that change from green to red as ypu approach at 3am with not a soul else in sight?
Britain will always have a worker productivity problem when it refuses to take lessons in road building and traffic management from almost every other EU country, and they all know how to do roads better.
Whatever they are being taught on their courses here is fuelling congestion.
The government spends so much money for road improvements. With all these work, are there any competent ‘inspectors’ to ensure that the work has been done properly ? As far as I’ve witnessed, especially with so called road repairs, they have cracked again within a few days !! This is how money is thrown away – contracting incompetent companies overlooked by incompetent ‘inspectors’ if there are such people !!