Dozens of major roads across Britain have become so congested and in need of upgrading that they risk damaging economic growth, the government’s National Infrastructure Commission has warned.
In a report to ministers, the commission said the Treasury needed to refocus investment in road building, highlighting that for many people and businesses it was still the “only [transport] option available”.
The report included an analysis of some of the slowest A-roads in the country where speeds can average no more than 30mph.
The analysis included stretches of the A40 between Cheltenham and Oxford, the A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne and the A52 between Grantham and Nottingham.
Also on the list are key stretches of roads that link cities and towns to the motorway network and red wall areas such as the link between Sunderland and Durham and Sheffield and Chesterfield.
The commission also flagged concerns about stretches of roads with heavy congestion leading out of ports such as Dover and Southampton.
The commission said that a major programme of new road building should not be at odds with the government’s net zero commitments. Instead it should go hand in hand with increasing the number of electric vehicles and introducing potential road charging schemes to manage demand.
It follows delays being announced by the Department for Transport to several key road building projects last month because of spiralling construction costs.
It comes as the Welsh government has scrapped all major new road schemes to combat climate change and create a “system that doesn’t just cater for those with cars”. The commission warned that applying the Welsh strategy to England could lead to increasing disparities in areas which have poor connections — mainly outside London and the southeast.
It also said that many “key links” of the road network were dating back to the Sixties and in urgent need of renewal.
“Providing good transport links between [large cities in the Midlands and the north] is a necessary condition to improve economic performance,” the commission said.
In its advice to Mark Harper, the transport secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, the commission said that the government’s road investment strategy needed to take a more strategic approach to “spotting gaps in the network, focused on the overriding aim of boosting economic growth in lower productivity regions”.
It said that poor road infrastructure was one of the “main driver of overall disparities between regions” pointing out that transport links in and around London were still significantly better than those between regions.
“Our road network remains fundamental to moving goods and people around the country,” Sir John Armitt, the commission’s chairman, said. “Removing bottlenecks is crucial for boosting trade between key towns, cities and freight hubs, but it can’t be done at the expense of the environment. That’s why we need to strain every sinew to enable drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles with confidence, as well as making road building less carbon intensive.”
The commission said that the transition to zero-emission vehicles would allow car journeys to continue whilst reducing carbon emissions.
“Since travel by road is economically and socially valuable, the priority should be accelerating the transition of the vehicle fleet, and all feasible measures to hasten this transition should be considered,” it said.
Transport bodies outside of London have recently criticised the government for delaying several road schemes.
Maria Machancoses, chief executive of Midlands Connect, said that it had created uncertainty among investors, companies and housing developers.
“This is absolutely not good for the country,” she said.
Darren Oldham, Transport for the North’s director for rail and road, said that while the delays were imposed for “understandable reasons” they had a “very profound impact on planning and strategic decisions”.
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