Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today gave the green light to 57 road improvement schemes in England, which he said would provide economic benefits worth £3bn.
Most of the improvements will be carried out in 2013 and 2014 and all will be completed by March 2015. They are being funded by £170m from the £217m ‘pinch point’ fund, which is aimed at tackling bottlenecks on the road network.
McLoughlin said: ‘Keeping traffic moving is vital to securing prosperity. By removing bottlenecks and improving access to local enterprise zones, key international trading ports and communities, these road schemes will help get people to and from work and power the economy.
‘They also have the potential to help deliver more than 300,000 new jobs and 150,000 new homes.’
The schemes include an £11m project to wide and improve junction 4 of the M5 near Bromsgrove. A series of smaller investments will reduce congestion across the M1, M6 and M42. A series of improvements to major A roads across England have also been approved.
The pinch point programme was announced as part of Chancellor George Osborne’s 2011 Autumn Statement. The first eight schemes to benefit were announced in July and a third tranche will be announced next year.
McLoughlin’s announcement comes as the CBI called for private firms to take over the maintenance and improvement of major roads.
