Road Plans Will Escape Money Cuts—Minister
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A N assurance that. the roads programme will escape heavy cuts caused by the tightening of .expenditure on "capital investment was given by Mr. H. Watkinson, Minister of Transport, last Week. He declared that in the next four years the nation was committed to spend, together with what the local authorities would spend on
maintenance and minor improvements, about Z500m. on roads. The emphasis would be on those roads which would benefit industrY rather than the private motorist..
"We are doing a. very great deal more than many people believe," he said, answering criticism that roadbuilding was flagging. "We are now well under way with the complete reconstruction of the Great North Road, which will cost 140m., but is a job worth doing. We are just about to go out to tender on Britain's first motorway, the motorway from London
to Birmingham. This will be one of the finest roads in the world and we hope to start work on it early next year. Perhaps I should add that it will cost Li7m., hut again it is well worth it in the increased efficiency of travel and movement that we shall get.
"Today we are starting major schemes at the rate of one scheme every 11 days and a major scheme is a scheme that must cost more than £100,000 and very often costs Ilm. Or more. We are starting minor schemes at the rate of 17 a week all over the country, and many of these make an important contribution both to road safety and faster road movement."
Special Circumstances
The Chancellor of the Exchequer had asked for capital expenditure to be limited, and Mr. Watkinson had accepted that that on railways, for example, would have to be restrained. On roads there were special circumstances which the Government had to consider. Because of the war and the collapse of the Socialists' road programme, there was something like 15 to 16 years' backlog in the roads programme that had to be overtaken.
The road-vehicle population was expanding at the rate of half a million vehicles a year. " I am entirely satisfied that I have an adequate share of the present investment programme of the Government for roads," stated the Minister. Instead of asking for more money, he proposed to get on with the job of providing highways that would increase industrial efficiency.
"For example we have to build a great new road to the Channel ports ready for the European Free Trade Area, and we hope to establish the line of that road very early next year," he revealed.