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25 stop talking and act!
Page 10
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by Sally Nash Hauliers have called on the government to stop talking about congestion on the M25 and get on with doing something about it by widening key sections as soon as possible.
This follows the latest government-commissioned report on the future of the orbital route which recommends widening a further 50 miles to four lanes and introducing toils.
Kellogg Brown & Root, which published the report, says the £850m widening project should only go ahead if tolls are Intro duced on key roads within a 50-mile radius of London, from Cambridge In the north to Brighton in the south.
"Widening alone is likely to encourage extra traffic, and that in turn would lead to further congestion," says the report's author. David Harricastle. He suggests imposing a 3p/mile toll on drivers using the widened sections.
But Meeks of Luton is among hauliers dissatisfied with the government's footdragging approach to widening the clogged artery.
MD Peter Little says: ''It's all very well people getting paid lots of money for writing fancy reports but it's about time some of that cash was spent on widening. Anybody who goes on the M25 will tell you it is an urgent priority."
The Freight Transport Association is also stressing that enough talking and consulting has taken place on the issue and that action is now needed urgently. Chief execu tive Richard Turner says: "Widening the M25 is inevitable and urgent. Government must accept that and Just get on with it. There is a danger that we are fiddling while Rome burns."
The KBR study will be submitted to London Mayor Ken Livingstone and regional planning boards for the East and South-East; they will add their recommendations before it is given to ministers.
A number of sections of the M25 are already due to be widened in 2004, making some stretches six lanes wide.