In its first ever Road Investment Strategy, the government plans to invest 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, including £1.5bn on smart motorways between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Yorkshire.
The programme includes ambitious projects to dual the A303, A1, A27 and the A47 as well as spending on important local infrastructure.
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.”
The North East and Yorkshire region has fared best with 18 schemes worth around £2.3bn, estimated to create 1,500 construction jobs
There will be nine new schemes in the North West worth £800m and estimated to create 600 jobs.
The Midlands gets 17 new schemes worth £1.4bn and the East of England is earmarked for 15 schemes worth £1.5bn.
Eighteen schemes will be built in London and the South East, worth £1.4bn, while the South West gets seven new projects worth £2bn.
New road projects
- South west: a commitment of £2bn to dual the entire A303 and A358 to the south west, including a tunnel at Stonehenge. This will allow roads users to drive on a dual carriageway from London to within 15 miles of Land’s End.
- North east: setting aside £290m to complete the dualling of the A1 all the way from London to Ellingham, just 25 miles from the Scottish border, to make the Great North Road truly great again
- North west and Yorkshire: Completing the smart motorway along the entire length of the M62 from Manchester to Leeds, together with improvements to transpennine capacity from Manchester to Sheffield, representing the first increase in transpennine capacity since 1971
- North west: Improve links to the Port of Liverpool, as part of a plan of 12 projects designed to improve access to major international gateways
- South east: funding £350m of improvements to the A27 along the south coast, tackling severe congestion at Arundel, Worthing and Lewes – consulting with the local community on options
- East of England: investing £300m to upgrade the east-west connection to Norfolk, by dualling sections of the A47 and improving its connections to the A1 and A11
- London and the south east: improving one-third of the junctions on the M25
- Midlands: improving the M42 to the east of Birmingham, improving the connectivity to Birmingham airport, the National Exhibition Centre, the local Enterprise Zone, and pave the way for the new High Speed 2 interchange station
The strategy also contains spending measures for communities affected by road upgrades, including: £100m for cycle route improvements and £100m to unlock future growth and housing developments.
.gif)
