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

  • Government green lights road and rail improvements
    July 19, 2013
    UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2 billion order for more state of-the art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes. The 270 carriages will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe as part of the government’s overall £5.8 billion Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The trains will operate on the East Coast Main Line from 2019 and will deliver significant benefits to passengers, including boosting capacity by 18 per cent, improving trai
  • Authorities switch on to all electric buses as costs tumble
    January 9, 2018
    Alan Dron looks at changes in bus propulsion as cities look to improve air quality and seek to reduce maintenance costs. Despite the ending of various incentives to adopt alternative fuels, the introduction of electric buses by US transit authorities is picking up speed as performance improves, costs drop and air quality considerations become increasingly significant. More US bus manufacturers are introducing zero-emission models and some recent contracts will see many more passengers getting their first
  • UK government to invest in autonomous cars, low emission vehicles
    November 24, 2016
    Presenting his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced investment in transportation, including £390 million for future transport and a major new investment in the UK transport infrastructure. The £390 million investment in future technology includes: investment in testing infrastructure for driverless cars; provision of at least 550 new electric and hydrogen buses, reduce the emissions of 1,500 existing buses and support taxis to become zero emission; installation of more charging points fo
  • Intelligent intersection control
    April 12, 2013
    Intelligent intersection control systems have a growing role to play in making urban traffic more efficient. Robin Meczes reports. The idea of every traffic light turning green as you approach it has long been a dream for many an urban driver – and none more so than those driving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which are slow and difficult to bring to a halt and then accelerate back to normal travel speed. But that dream has become a reality for some drivers in a small number of cities around Europe in the las