The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced £1bn to enhance and repair transport infrastructure and “future-proof” England’s road network.
The new package of funding also includes further £590 million to take forward the long-awaited Lower Thames Crossing, and follows the previous £15.6bn investment in city region transport announced ahead of the Spending Review last week.
Funding aims to ensure upgrades are made to bridges, flyovers and tunnels across Britain, and support highly skilled job opportunities as part of Labour’s Plan for Change.
Drivers across the UK will benefit from investments to improve vital road structures, alongside committing cash to finally deliver a new Thames Crossing, working with the private sector.
Across Great Britain, approximately 3,000 bridges are currently unable to support the heaviest vehicles, restricting access for agricultural and freight transport in regions.
The so-called Structures Fund will now inject cash into repairing bridges, flyovers and tunnels across Britain, and ensure other transport infrastructure is both more resilient to extreme weather events and to the demands of modern transport.
The Government is also pledging a further £590 million to take forward the Lower Thames Crossing. This crossing will cut congestion at Dartford, better linking up motorists and businesses in the Midlands and North with key ports in the South East.
The Government said it would “look to bring in private finance and expertise to support this major project”, and investments come as part of the upcoming 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which will be published later this week.
It said that it will set out more detail about how funding will be allocated shortly, with funding additional to the funding local authorities will receive for highways maintenance, which will be set out in due course.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:
“When it comes to investing in Britain’s renewal, we’re going all in by going up against the painful disruption of closed bridges, crossings and flyovers, and ensure they’re fit to serve working people for decades to come.
“Today’s investment also goes even further and faster to spread growth by providing critical funding to take forward the Lower Thames Crossing – not just boosting connectivity in the South East, but ensuring a smoother, less congested passage of vital goods from Europe to our regions.
“This is a turning point for our national infrastructure, and we’re backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities, delivering on our Plan for Change.”
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said:
“We’re finally getting on with the Lower Thames Crossing — a crucial project to drive economic growth, that has been stuck in planning limbo for far too long.
“This project is essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long term trade with Europe. It will speed up the movement of goods from South East England to the Midlands and the North, crucial to thousands of jobs and businesses.
“Our structures fund will make long-overdue investments to repair ageing structures across the country, speeding up journeys, restoring pride and delivering our Plan for Change to boost the economy and support regional growth.”
Speaking about government funding to start construction of the Lower Thames Crossing, Kevin Green, policy director at business group Logistics UK said:
“Efficient logistics with minimal delays is critical to the delivery of the government’s growth agenda, and our members are delighted to hear that funding has been made available to start work on the long-planned Lower Thames Crossing, after a decade of holdups at this vital interchange.
“It is imperative that the government also sets out a plan for providing and securing the full funding required to complete the project – our members deserve to be able to deliver efficiently for the industry they support, so that the economy can benefit.”
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