Prime Minister, , today (Tuesday 30 June)
announced vital new upgrades for road and rail in a speech
setting out plans for massive investment in UK infrastructure,
to drive forward the country’s economic recovery from the
pandemic.
He confirmed over £100m for a raft of road schemes and projects
right across the country which will reignite local economies
and connect communities.
Twenty-nine projects, ranging from fixing deteriorating roads
and flood mitigation measures, through to repairing bridges
that are part of local highway key routes, will benefit from
investment in an effort to make a lasting difference to the
quality of local highways across the country.
The funding will help improve some of our country’s most
important A-roads, from the A58 by Bolton to the A38 running
through Somerset. The investment further demonstrates the
government’s commitment to levelling-up and improving
connectivity between communities, with high-quality roads lying
right at the heart of people’s ability to get about for work
and leisure.
Projects receiving particularly significant investment
include:
- £4.9m to repair two bridges in Sandwell to improve safety
for nearby key roads in the West Midlands that will be used
heavily during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
- £5m each for plans to make the key route network in
Liverpool more resilient, to begin further maintenance on the
Swanswell Viaduct in Coventry, and for road maintenance on the
Tadcaster Road in York.
- £4.9m to replace poor-quality footways for pedestrians in
Sheffield, as part of the government’s commitment to improve
people’s access to ‘active travel’.
- Boosting the quality of the A15, a key route providing a
vital connection through the Humber region, with over £4.5m of
investment.
The government is committed to improving local journeys and
ensuring the local road network is safe and reliable. Over £7.1
billion is being allocated to highway authorities in England
outside London for highways maintenance from 2015 to 2021,
helping local highway authorities keep their roads and assets,
such as bridges and viaducts, in good condition.
Transport Secretary said:
“As the country begins the recovery from Covid-19, we need to
get on the front foot and invest in infrastructure in every
region to reignite the economy, helping better connect people
with opportunities in the future.
“By investing £100m in local roads and reaffirming our
commitment to better connecting communities, we are not just
talking about levelling up – but making it happen.”
Network Rail will now rapidly start the next stage of work to
unblock Manchester’s railways after it was given £10 million in
design and development funding. The work will examine options
to resolve capacity and reliability problems on the network.
This is the next step in the Government's programme to
transform rail services in northern England following the
nationalisation of Northern Rail in March.
The Transport Secretary also announced today that over 50 bids
have been received from across the country for a share of the
Restoring Your Railways ‘Ideas Fund’. This marks the next step
for the second round of the fund which will offer support to
develop proposals to build or reopen lines and stations closed
during the Beeching cuts, with the potential to level up
regional economies and boost access to jobs and education.
Local authorities have now submitted bids for a share of the
second round of the Restoring Your Railways ‘Ideas Fund’.
Proposals for the restoration of lines and stations to
re-connect their communities will now be considered by an
expert panel including Network Rail Chair Sir Peter Hendy, with
announcements regarding the successful schemes expected over
the summer.
The Government has also announced today it will work with
devolved administrations to carry out a ‘connectivity review’,
looking at how best to improve road, rail, air and sea links
between our four nations.
