Skip to main content

£25 million boost to tackle UK highway bottlenecks

Ten schemes to remove bottlenecks on the local UK highway network and support economic growth have been given the green light by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin. This £25 million in funding, the first allocation from the US$258 million Local Pinch Point Fund programme, will enable early delivery of these schemes and will help support employment while unlocking development sites to help local businesses and communities.
March 26, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Ten schemes to remove bottlenecks on the local UK highway network and support economic growth have been given the green light by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

This £25 million in funding, the first allocation from the US$258 million Local Pinch Point Fund programme, will enable early delivery of these schemes and will help support employment while unlocking development sites to help local businesses and communities.

Patrick McLoughlin said: “Tackling bottlenecks on the highway network will help keep get the country moving and the economy growing. I want to see this work underway and shovels in the ground as soon as possible, so I am announcing US$38 million to fast track the first ten schemes”.

As part of the 2012 Autumn Statement the government announced the creation of a Local Pinch Point Fund worth US$258 million to remove bottlenecks on the local highway network which are impeding growth. The fund reflects the government’s commitment to supporting economic growth by tackling barriers on the local highway network that may be restricting the movement of goods and people. The fund is aimed at those schemes that can be delivered quickly with immediate impact. The department’s funding contribution (in the form of capital) is only available in 2013 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015.

Of the ten schemes awarded just awarded funding, four are expected to commence in the next few weeks, with the others starting over the coming year.

Related Content

  • Slow development of Europe's road user charging
    April 24, 2013
    Delegates convened in Brussels for Europe’s 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in March, when both positive and negative developments came to light for advocates of more widespread introduction of RUC. Jon Masters reports. Goings on across Europe in recent months have again demonstrated how very sensitive road user charging (RUC) is politically. At the 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels at the beginning of March, a Danish delegation was notable for its absence, but Belgian governme
  • Smoothing out city freight movements
    May 28, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes a national first. Urban freight movements, while commercially and socially vital, are a growing logistical headache for planners and people alike. Figures from France’s Lyon Laboratory of Transport Economics indicate that goods transport in major urban areas accounts for: 20% of traffic; 35% of CO2 emissions made by all urban trips; and 50% of the diesel used; while final km delivery runs account for 20% of the total cost of the transport chain.
  • Dynamic charging boosts electric vehicles’ potential
    December 16, 2014
    With an increasing need to use electric vehicles in city centres to reduce pollution, David Crawford looks at various solutions to power delivery. The UN’s September 2014 Climate Summit has added fresh momentum to the drive to increase urban electric vehicle (EV) takeup. It has launched the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, which wants to see EVs accounting for 30% of all urban travel by 2030, and make cities worldwide more friendly to their use. Encouragingly, the plan is being well supported by commerci
  • DfT consults on future of Highways Agency
    October 30, 2013
    Prior to turning the UK Highways Agency into a government-owned company, the Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a consultation asking for the public’s views on the proposed structure and accountability of the new company, along with input on how the new watchdog, and a separate new organisation that will monitor the performance of the agency, should be run. Turning the Highways Agency into a government-owned company will improve efficiency and reduce running costs, with taxpayers expected to ben