A12 And M11 To Benefit From Government Investment
1 December 2014, 07:23
The Government has announced the A12 and M11 will benefit from a £15 billion scheme to upgrade 80 roads around the country.
The Government has announced the A12 and M11 will benefit from a £15 billion scheme to upgrade 80 roads around the country.
The plans will see a third lane built on the A12 between Colchester and Chelmsford, as well as rebuilding the A12/M25 junction and technology improvements along the whole route.
£50 million is going to be spent upgrading Junction 7 of the M11 at Harlow which is hoped will "make development easier and provide quicker access to and from the town".
It is part of a £1.5 billion package of investment for major roads in the East of England.
Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, will announce the improvements in the House of Commons today. He said: "Today I am setting out the biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades. It will dramatically improve the network and unlock Britain's economic potential.
"Roads are key to our nation's prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.
"This government has a long term plan to secure the country's future and this £15 billion roads programme is demonstration of that. It will directly benefit hardworking families across the East of England."
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:
"I promised when I was in the East of England that we would address this area's economic needs for the future.
''Our long term economic plan means today we can invest £1.5 billion into the region's infrastructure to improve, repair and expand our roads.
"Our plans will transform some of the country's most important strategic routes.
"For years our roads have been neglected. Now that this government is fixing the economy, we can afford to invest properly in our roads - unlocking jobs and local growth by creating a road network that is fit for the 21st century."
Other roads in this region to be improved are:
- dualling of the A428 to create a continuous 'expressway' from Cambridge to Bedford and Milton Keynes, helping some of our fastest-growing towns and cities to work together. A new strategic study will look at the case for extending this expressway from Milton Keynes to Oxford;
- investing over £300m to transform the A47 around Peterborough, Norwich and Great Yarmouth. This includes dualling the road from Peterborough to the A1, upgrades around Norwich to create a 30 mile stretch of continuous dual carriageway and improvements to the Acle Straight and junctions around Norwich. This will tackle congestion and help share the benefits of growth in key cities;
- opening a new chapter in the history of the A1, with an upgrade to the two-lane section of the A1(M) around Stevenage, and improvements to the notorious Black Cat roundabout on the A1. A strategic study will examine the future of the A1 between Peterborough and the M25, including whether to upgrade the old dual carriageway section to motorway standard;
- a link road from the A5 to the M1 near Dunstable, including a new junction 11A, which will allow for 7,000 new homes at Houghton Regis.