Road Investment Strategy - a victory for common sense over dogma

A blueprint for investment to address key defects of the England’s strategic road networks

McLoughlin lays down roads delivery challenge for the next Government.

Improvements in local roads need to keep pace with the strategic network

The UK’s first Road Investment Strategy (RIS) published today will be warmly welcomed by the vast majority of business, motorists and other road users.

With over 90% of passenger journeys and over two thirds of freight travelling by road, a network that is fit for purpose is fundamental to Britain’s future prosperity and after a generation of under-investment by successive governments, a detailed plan to address capacity, condition and environmental impact is long overdue.

Today’s announcements do not promise any new money but they do put flesh on the bones by explaining how more than £15 billion of capital funding for the strategic network announced last year will be spent between now and 2021.
Those who feared that the RIS would propose vast swathes of new tarmac across England’s most environmentally sensitive areas will be relieved. With only a few exceptions, the 127 schemes identified in the RIS are about increasing capacity of the existing network and making it fit for purpose.

The RIS is primarily “route-based” and prioritises investment on those schemes that will deliver benefits for those making longer journeys as well as local residents and businesses. The lion’s share of the investment on projects will be directed into two areas:

• Increasing the capacity of motorways by creating an additional 400 miles of Smart motorway using the “all lanes running” configuration introduced for the first time earlier this year on two sections of the M25.

• De-bottlenecking creating greater consistency in the quality of other priority routes. This includes the creation of “Expressways” which are major A-routes that comprise dual carriageway that is of a consistently high quality. Expressways will address those areas, like the A303 and A30 that provide an alternative to existing motorways or penetrate areas not addressed by the existing motorway network.

The RIS also commits investment to measures that will reduce noise, and hence environmental impact, and proposes an initial set of performance measures against which the Government and the new Government-owned Highways Agency company will be measured.

There are few surprises, and indeed many of the schemes, like building a tunnel under Stonehenge, have been talked about for decades. And this is where the challenge lies. The RAC warmly welcomes the RIS and regards the proposals as balanced and an appropriate first step in addressing the worst deficiencies in the network. However the RAC has two key concerns:

• The real challenge lies in delivery. The RIS is a plan, and it requires commitment and determination from the next Government to implement these plans on time and within budget and to sustain the momentum when the next Roads Investment Strategy is published for the five years beyond 2020. It is down to road users, who comprise the majority of the electorate, to hold their elected representatives to account to ensure that delivery matches the good intentions

• The RIS is almost entirely focussed on the strategic road network and yet motorists are equally, if not more concerned about the state of local roads. The Asphalt Industry Alliance has estimated has estimated that a one-off £12 billion investment is required to address the maintenance backlog on English roads and bring them back into an acceptable condition. The majority of this expenditure is required on local roads and motorists regard spending on local road maintenance as their highest priority for transport expenditure by Government. Virtually all journeys on the strategic network start and finish on local roads and we must as a nation avoid creating a two-tier road network with the arteries (the strategic roads) in a healthy state, but the veins (the local roads) in a poor state of health that damages the health of the network as a whole. It is encouraging that the RIS recognises this and in one or two cases proposes investment in schemes on local roads to address deficiencies in the local network that directly impact on the ability of the strategic network to meet performance targets but more needs to be done to help local authorities address the backlog

RAC welcomes RIS plan:

RAC chief engineer, David Bizley said: “England’s first Road Investment strategy is long overdue and the Government are to be congratulated in proposing a balanced set of proposals that, when delivered, will start to address bottlenecks in capacity and inconsistencies in road quality that frustrate businesses and all road users on a daily basis.

“By focussing on upgrading existing routes, the Government has side-stepped some of the more environmentally contentious options that have been proposed over the last decade. Few of the proposed schemes come as a surprise and in most cases, the need for improvement has been recognised for many years. And with a projected overall return of £4 benefit for every £1 spent this looks like great value for the tax payer and dwarfs the projected returns on some other committed transport projects like HS2.

“It is also good to see Government laying down a marker on what performance they expect the new Highways Agency company to deliver in terms of safety, user satisfaction, network availability, delays and road surface quality along with indicators of environmental performance and impact on local cycling and walking. There will be a healthy debate on how these indicators will be measured and whether the targets are sufficiently ambitious but the associated transparency is great news for all road users.”

Delivering the plan:

Bizley said: “In many respects, the publication of these plans is the easy bit the real challenge lies in delivery. Road users, who comprise the majority of the electorate, will wish to hold the next Government to account for this.
“It is fundamental to the economic success of the UK and the future mobility of each of us as individuals that this plan is delivered on time and within budget and is not kicked into the long grass like so many previous statements of good intent.

“More than 90% of passenger journeys are undertaken by road and with a growing population we have no choice as a nation but to upgrade our roads, even though we clearly want to encourage investment in and the use of other modes of travel as well.

Local roads:

Bizley said: “Once these initial plans are implemented, users will start to see real improvements in journey time, journey reliability and user experience on the strategic network. However, most journeys start and finish on local roads and users will expect to see an equal level of Government commitment to improving these.”

“The sums currently being provided to local authorities fall far short of what is required. Local authorities have statutory duties to fund education, social services and other important areas of their budgets and without more help, there is a strong probability that local roads will continue to deteriorate.

“It simply isn’t acceptable for central Government to wash their hands of the issue and blame local authority prioritising for poor local roads when motorists are contributing over £40 billion per year to the Treasury in car tax, fuel duty and the associated VAT. Motorists want local roads maintenance to be prioritised above any other expenditure on transport.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

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