The schemes will be worth an accumulative £90m and be a part of the Plan for Change
The four government road schemes will see upgrades in Wiltshire, Leeds, Essex, and Buckinghamshire.
The schemes are intended to reduce journey times in the regions, through construction/completion of several roads.
The government road schemes will also strengthen links between the east and west
The schemes being approved are Wiltshire’s A350 Chippenham Bypass phases 4 and 5, Leeds’ A647 Dawsons Corner and Stanningley Bypass, Buckinghamshire’s South East Aylesbury Link Road, and Essex’s A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange.
The A350 Chippenham Bypass in particular is expected to reduce journey times to a quarter of its current length.
Dawsons Corner and Stanningley Bypass has seen traffic worsening, especially for bus services in the area, and so will see the roundabout replaced as well as the bypass’s structural integrity renewed.
The South East Aylesbury Link Road will reduce pollution caused by road traffic in the town centre, as well as providing more links between new developments and simultaneously allow more housing developments to be considered.
The A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange will upgrade the interchange and surrounding roundabouts, allowing Basildon and Southend Town to see growth.
The government’s Plan for Change will attempt to speed up delivery of infrastructure, as well as repair existing infrastructure such as through a promised £1.6bn investment in pothole repair.
“An efficient road network is critical to enable business”
The future of roads minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: “The UK’s roads are the backbone of a growing economy, which is why we’re giving these vital schemes the go ahead, helping deliver our Plan for Change.
“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.”
Michelle Gardner, deputy director – policy, Logistics UK, said: “80% of UK freight travels on roads at some point on its journey to the end user and an efficient road network is critical to enable business to drive growth across the whole economy.
“Congestion makes journey planning highly unpredictable which increases business costs through factors such as missed deliveries, unnecessary overtime, increased fuel consumption and inefficient fleet utilisation.
“The schemes given the go-ahead today show how even smaller-scale strategic upgrades can have a dramatic impact across the whole network. Upgrading the national infrastructure in this way makes supply chains more resilient and enables logistics providers to ensure that the right goods are in the right place at the right time – whether that is a factory, office, hospital or doorstep.”
