Skip to main content

Congestion-busting roads boost across England

A widespread congestion-busting road improvement programme worth hundreds of millions of pounds has now tackled 39 bottlenecks, with more than another 80 to be completed in the next seven months. According to the Highways Agency, the US$515 million ‘pinch point’ programme will cut congestion, increase safety and improve journey times and help support the creation of 300,000 new jobs and 144,000 homes. The improvement plans, part of the biggest programme of road enhancements since the 1970s, were dra
September 15, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A widespread congestion-busting road improvement programme worth hundreds of millions of pounds has now tackled 39 bottlenecks, with more than another 80 to be completed in the next seven months.  

According to the 503 Highways Agency, the US$515 million ‘pinch point’ programme will cut congestion, increase safety and improve journey times and help support the creation of 300,000 new jobs and 144,000 homes.

The improvement plans, part of the biggest programme of road enhancements since the 1970s, were drawn up by the Highways Agency working with local councils and communities.

The 121 schemes are distributed across England’s major road network and include the A30 Loggans Moor roundabout and approach roads in Hayle, Cornwall, and the A1/A47 junction at Wansford, Cambridgeshire, as well as schemes in Hampshire, West Midlands and Hull.

Roads minister John Hayes said: “We are investing record amounts in motorways and major roads – and every one of these pinch point schemes will deliver benefits to thousands of drivers. Some of the benefits are immediate – such as improved road markings to help traffic flow better through a junction; in other cases the roads are being improved now so they can accommodate local development in the future.

“The completed schemes will together help support the creation of more than 300,000 new jobs and 144,000 new homes – so it’s good news for all road users, for local communities and the economy.”

Highways Agency divisional director Matt Sweeting said: “The pinch point programme, the bulk of which will be completed over the next seven months, provides smaller scale improvements that can deliver big returns by easing congestion and making journey times more reliable for road users, including hauliers and commuters; all of this will help boost local economies and drive economic growth.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens technology installed on UK connected vehicles project
    November 14, 2016
    Siemens’ Sapphire journey time measurement system for traffic monitoring using Bluetooth technology is being installed on three main corridors into the centre of Coventry as part of a new UK project to assess how connected vehicles interact on key corridors leading into the city centre from the national road network. Led by Coventry City Council, the intelligent variable message systems (iVMS) project will draw expertise from Coventry University’s Centre for Mobility and Transport in collaboration with
  • Unicard smart ticketing set for Scotland
    July 4, 2024
    Solution will digitise Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s ZoneCard ticketing
  • Cheshire economy to benefit from major transport funding
    June 3, 2014
    Work can start on the Crewe Green Link Road in Cheshire following government agreement to fund the scheme. The scheme consists of a 1.1 km long dual carriageway road from the existing bypass on the A500 to the A5020 passing under the Crewe-Stoke Railway. The Department for Transport will fund up to US$26 million of the US$44.2 million scheme which will provide vital transport links to Basford, an important site for local employment opportunities. The scheme will also include a new bypass to the south east o
  • Parsons Brinckerhoff wins consultancy services contract
    October 31, 2014
    Engineering consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff has secured a nine-year contract with Somerset County Council in the UK to provide engineering consultancy services. Anticipated activity under the framework contract will cover a diverse range of services, including: transportation studies; design of transport improvement and maintenance schemes; environmental planning and consultancy; highways safety studies; structures inspections; and construction management. The contract has been drafted to enable othe