£90 million of road improvements to cut journey times by up to 25 per cent

Labour has approved £90million worth of road improvement works in a move that intends to speed up journey times for cars, reduce pollution and improve safety.

Commissioned as part of the government’s Plan for Change scheme, which is designed to improve infrastructure across the country, this new investment will be focused across four major routes: the A350 in Wiltshire, the A647 and Stanningley Bypass in Leeds, the South East Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR) in Buckinghamshire, and the A127/A130 Interchange in Essex.

Undoubtedly the biggest undertaking is the £32.3million investment into the A350 Chippenham bypass – roughly £26 million of which is coming from the government – which will turn the single into a dual carriageway. This, says the Department for Transport, will cut journey times by as much as 25 per cent, with work set to begin in the spring of next year.

Elsewhere, the A647 is set to get a brand new-roundabout and receive some structural works, while the SEALR will gain a new stretch of dual carriageway to provide additional infrastructure for up to 16,000 new homes in the area – the latter scheme has already been greenlit and expected to cost as much as £147million in total, with the majority being funded by local government.

Finally, the Fairglen Interchange as part of the A127 and A130 is set to receive roughly £15million in funding. This is in addition to the £44million already being invested by local authorities and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership to improve traffic flow with things like a dedicated off-slip link road and the installation of a pedestrian/cycle bridge.

The Minister for Future Roads, Lillian Greenwood, described the UK roads as “the backbone of a growing economy, which is why we’re giving these vital schemes the go ahead, helping deliver our Plan for Change.”

She continued, saying “Economic growth has been stunted for too long, so we’re giving the green light and investing in vital schemes to help people get from A to B more easily, however they choose to travel.”

However, such new investment only attempts to overshadow the government’s recent cancellation of several major road infrastructure projects, namely the Stonehenge tunnel on the A303 in Wiltshire and the A27 Arundel bypass in West Sussex.

All of the work announced above is set to be completed within the next few years, with the A350 project set to take roughly 18 months to complete.

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