Action for Roads: A network for the 21st century details plans to convert the Highways Agency into a strategic highways company and sets out how it will get long-term funding certainty for its capital and maintenance programmes.
In addition, the government will introduce a roads investment strategy, setting out plans for construction and maintenance to 2021 and beyond, as well as performance criteria – what it describes as “the first coherent, proactive investment strategy for roads in almost a quarter of a century” which will “further drive down costs.”
Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) external affairs director Alasdair Reisner said: “CECA is very supportive of the government’s proposals to provide certainty of investment in the roads sector. CECA has long argued that contractors can only provide maximum efficiency where they have good visibility of their forward programme of work. Too often the roads sector has suffered from boom-and-bust conditions that are hugely damaging to smooth delivery of projects.
“Today’s proposals from the Department for Transport offer the potential to resolve this issue once and for all. However, with less than two years until the general election, it is vital there is no delay in implementing the legislation required to make sure this happens.”
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