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Caution greets ilbn congestion-buster
Page 12
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II by Jennifer Ball
Hauliers and trade associations have reacted with caution to the government's ITbn road building plans to cut congestion.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling gave the go-ahead last week to the biggest overhaul of the road network for a decade, with a series of schemes including widening the M25 near Heathrow to 12 lanes; widening the M1 between the M25 and Milton Keynes to four lanes; and widening part of the M52.
He also signalled that road user charging for all vehicles could be introduced in the future: "Looking ahead to the next 20 to 30 years as the economy grows and people become better off, we face Increasing pressure on road space. We will not be able to build our way out of all the pressures we will face. So I have launched a study into the practicalities of a road-user charging scheme. "We would be failing future generations if we did not find out if this is feasible and examine what gains could come from it," he says.
But the Road Haulage Association has expressed concern over the timescale for completing the schemes. RHA chief executive Roger King says: "These major improvements will bring their own obstacles. How they can be undertaken without bringing long sections of the road network to a grinding halt remains a concern.
'Add to this the congestion caused by those vehicles which take 'alternative' routes and there is a good chance our entire road network will be brought to a standstill. The disruption could last for the next 10 years or so," he says.
The Freight Transport Association's chief executive Richard Turner adds that making the movement of people and goods more efficient and less painful is a prerequisite for life in the twenty-first century.
Environment group Transport 2000 welcomes Alistair Darling's rejection of some proposed schemes across the country.
But it says that widening the roads will not solve congestion, but will Instead lead to bigger, wider jams: "Charging Is also needed to lock in the benefits," says director Stephen Joseph.