1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164 
Cash pledge for roads
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• An extra 21.8 billion has been allocated to road spending.
This will allow work to begin next year on the ML M6 and M25 as promised by Parkinson's predecessor Paul Channon, and will take the brakes off road spending by local highway authorities. The cash should also speed up the bridge strengthening programme designed to prepare for 40-tonne trucks in 1999.
"Over the next three years some £5.7 billion will be spent on building and improving motorways and trunk roads," says Parkinson. "This means that the provision for roads will have doubled between 1988'89 and 1992/93." A further £2 billion will be spent on local roads before 1992, he promises, with spending on new road construction due to rise by 40% in real terms.
"We also plan to spend another £1.7 billion on roads and bridge maintenance which will mean a 42% rise in real terms in spending on capital maintenance compared with the three years previously," says Parkinson.
Labour Transport spokesman John Prescott says: "The statistical trickery and clever presentation cannot hide the fact that Cecil Parkinson has failed to get enough money to tackle Britain's transport crisis . . were now edging back to the spending level of the 1970s."
The Freight Transport Association has welcomed the cash boost, but warns: "More money will be needed in time." It is particularly concerned that the bridge strengthening programme is still too slow. The Road Haulage Association says the news is "better than we were expecting, but we are still looking for a commitment to roads into the mid1990s."
British Road Federation director Peter Witt says: "Cecil Parkinson has clearly made a persuasive case to his Cabinet colleagues."
D The National Economic Development Office is setting up a traffic management systems working party to find fast cures for urban congestion. It will report to the National Economic Development Council within a year.
CBI director-general John Banham has warned that traffic congestion is forcing operators to put more trucks on the roads in order to meet delivery schedules.
El Changes to local government accounting procedures proposed in the Local Government and Housing Bill (1989) should increase structural maintenance of roads by local authorities, says Roads and Traffic minister Robert Atkins.