Road building plans fall by the wayside
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• Fears that the Government's three-year £6.3bn new roadbuilding programme is to be slashed were strengthened this week by British Road Federation research which found that only three contracts have been let out of the 24 proposed for this year.
"With almost half this financial year over and only three contracts let we are concerned about slippage," says BRF assistant director Paul Everitt, "It seems unlikely now that this programme will be completed this year in order to slow spending in subsequent years when the bulk of the expenditure had been planned."
So far the only contracts let are the All Four Wentways to Newmarket road; the A27 Brighton Bypass, and the M3 Bar End to Compton (Twyford Down) route.
The DOT refuses to comment, claiming that nothing can be said before the Chancellor makes his Autumn statement.
Plans to spend £6.3bn on new trunk roads and motorways were contained in the White Paper: Roads for Prosperity.