140m. a Year for Road Works
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71-1 the frosts of winter almost past, the road-building programme used by the Minister of Transport ared to enter a new phase of activity the spring and early summer. auncing the immediate targets to be wed in the coming year, in the se of Commons on Tuesday, Mr. rid Watkinson said that the rate of nditure on new projects, mainice and minor works would reach m. annually.
direct contribution towards easing low of holiday traffic would result work on the second ' half of [stone by-pass, due to begin in I, Maidenhead by-pass and Thames te (May) and Staines by-pass (midner). Other major work would be in the next few months on the acts of the Birmingham-Preston rrway, Doncaster by-pass, Stamford Stevenage by-passes, and the widenaf the Great North Road.
ir these schemes, Treasury approval already been obtained and contracts been placed. Urban development . was also to be started on an irtant scale. The Minister expressed
the hope that he would shortly be able to authorize the Tyne Tunnel and Blackwell Tunnel schemes, and work on London's Park Lane widening project was due to begin in April.
Other improvements planned included the Hammersmith flyover and the completion of the Cromwell Road extension. as well as the second part of the Birmingham inner ring road.
Minor schemes throughout the country would help to relieve unemployment at a cost of about 124m. Maintenance and minor works would account for £33m.of Government money and local government contributions would add a further 150m. to the total.
Mr. Watkinson said that the first phase of the attack on the urban problem was well advanced. The Ministry now looked ahead to the next phase. He added a warning that to over-insure or become over-cautious about weather difficulties. sub-soil or planning problems would mean that we would be beaten before we had started. It was the Government's view that local authorities should he encouraged to take their full responsibility in building roads as well as they could as agents of the Ministry.