A45 a country lane
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KEN ROGERS, newly-elected National Chairman of the Road Haulage Association, speaking at a meeting of the Institute of Traffic Administration at Felixstowe, last Sunday, said that the A45 was a vital industrial route of European importance that must be improved to a high consistent standard with all deliberate speed.
Mr Rogers said that of all the East Coast ports which have grown as'a result of the increase in EEC trade, Felixstowe was perhaps the one most readily identified with the major growth in European transport, particularly road transport. He said it is a matter for some regret that major investments in the port, in the ships, and in the road networks abroad have not been matched by a corresponding increase in investment in the roads in this country ''Of particular concern is the very slow progress which is being made on the 445 industrial trunk road, he said. The A45 winds its way through the heartland of England with great difficulty. Certainly some improvements have been made but there are still many miles of this trade route to Europe which are substandard.'" Mr Rogers said that inadequate roads were not only uneconomic for the vehicles which must use them but they also brought attendant dangers . and environmental nuisance.
He told the IOTA that at a meeting of road users nearly ten years ago, Sir George Middleton, Chief Executive of the British Industry Roads Campaign, had described the A45 then as "the longest lane in England". He believed that operators who must use it would describe the situation as little changed over those ten years. "My message to the Department of Transport is clear. The 445 must be seen as a vital industrial route and improved to a high consistent standard with all deliberate speed," he said.