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Motorway the only way
Page 56
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• "Improvements to the A45 cannot possibly cater for the increase in traffic in the coming years between the Midlands and East Anglian ports, notably Felixstowe. It will be essential to build a motorway to carry the traffic; a motorway would help trade to expand and reduce transport costs to countries in Europe and other overseas destinations."
Mr G. T. Wood, chairman of the transport committee of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Transport manager of GKN Screws and Fasteners Ltd, said he was going to "drop a bombshell" before he made these comments at the conference last week (CM November 10) organized by the British Road Federation in conjunction with Perkins Engines to launch a campaign for better road links between the Midlands and East Anglian ports. Mr Wood was backed by a number of speakers, and in his summing-up Sir George Middleton, chief executive of the British Industry Roads Campaign, said that future planning would have to include building a motorway. No one opposed the scheme.
Mr Wood did a sum to show the potential benefits of a motorway. He pointed out that the maximum driving time of eight hours to be introduced in 1976 would extend the time for a round trip on A45 from Birmingham to Felixstowe (including depot delays) to three days. It was feasible that a motorway would reduce the o9erall mileage between the centres from 185 to 170 and that the distance between an outlying depot in the Midlands and Felixstowe, would be less than 140 miles. This would enable an outward-and-return trip to be completed in a day in a driving time of eight hours and the total mileage to be reduced to not more than 280, which would be the maximum allowable in 1976.
Pleas were made by other speakers that improvements to A45 should be implemented whether or not a motorway was built. And Mr J. Niblock, regional executive of the National Bus Company, emphasized that a motorway would enable psv services to be greatly improved. Various speakers noted that delays in finalizing major road improvement schemes confused or disrupted the plans of local authorities for reducing traffic congestion in towns.