Government announces £24bn in road investment

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Friday 7 March 2014

roadtrafficThe government has promised to inject the largest investment into the road network since the 1970s, which it claims will provide “a massive increase in work” for Britain’s road-building companies.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would triple funding on the road network over the next eight years, pledging that £24 billion would be spent on improving England’s road network until 2021 – including £3bn a year on improvements and maintenance for the strategic network by the end of the next parliament.

The DfT claimed the investment would support almost 30,000 new jobs in the construction sector, whilst delivering a “safer, more sustainable road network”.

Speaking at the Institution of Civil Engineers, roads minister Robert Goodwill said: “Funding certainty is critical to the construction industry in planning for the future and that is exactly what the government has delivered – with £24 billion secure investment over six years and £50 billion for the strategic road network over the next 15 years.

“However, we need to make sure everyone is ready to deliver the massive programme of investment that we need to keep Britain’s roads moving.

“To do that, we need to make sure we have the right people and equipment in place to deliver the 53 road schemes in preparation right now, plus the next generation of improvements over the next seven years.

“This means taking on more apprentices and making sure suppliers have the capacity to deal with the increase in demand.

“If we get this right, this will provide road users with a high performing network that can cope with the expected 43 per cent increase in traffic over the coming decades that will help boost economy growth and deliver more efficient roads for motorists.”

As part of the package, the government will pump £6.1 billion into a resurfacing scheme incorporating 80 per cent of the strategic network. A further £6 billion is being allocated for potholes on local authority roads.

The DfT has also announced its intention to turn the Highways Agency into a government-owned company, which it claims will “improve commercial efficiency and cut running costs.”