Roadbuilding delays slammed
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from our political correspondent • It could only happen in the upsidedown world of transport. The Government was last week heavily criticized for exceeding its Budget estimates in a supposedly belttightening year. But the Ministry of Transport, in the same breath, managed to get itself castigated for under-spending.
Just as it is wrong to submit massive supplementary estimates at virtually the same time as massive spending cuts (the Government's sin), it is equally wrong to slow down essential roadbuilding and jeopardize road safety below the original target (Mrs. Castle's sin).
These were delivered by the powerful cross-Party Estimates Committee in Parliament last week, in the latest illustration of the confused economic situation.
The Committee said it was "disturbed" at the slow progress in the rate of motorway building which was revealed by the Transport Ministry's underspending of £12m on major roads in the current year.
The delays were due to various causes such as an unforeseen public inquiry affecting the Lancashire-Yorkshire motorway, and difficulties over common land on the Dartford diversion in South-East London.
The Ministry had suggested that the £12m might yet be spent this year, but the Committee warned that MPs would want to know the "true situation" when supplementaries were presented.
On the road safety element, the Committee said it was "most disturbing" that a transfer of responsibilities for road lighting, from local lighting authorities, had brought about a temporary reduction in safety on the roads.
They found that the Ministry's original provision of £2,400,000 for lighting this year had now shrunk to a mere £900,000—a vast decrease of film.
The Ministry blamed the setback on the transfer, adding that new authorities were "perhaps not so ready to take on the new responsibilities".
The Committee told the Ministry to prod the highway authorities into speeding up their programmes to get the roads properly lit.
Distribution costs
• Oil product distribution costs might rise by £11-rn to £11m in the first full year after the Transport Bill became law. the Minister of Power told the Commons this week. The Parliamentary Secretary said the British Steel Corporation expected its annual costs to increase by less than Cl m on a £76m total haulage bill; the CEGB estimated the abnormal loads charge would add £300,000 to costs and the Bill's effects would increase its total fuel transport charges by about £500,000 yearly.