Invest in new roads to drive economic growth, RHA urges Government

Delays on the strategic road network (motorways and major A roads) have increased significantly in recent years – with average speeds now at their lowest since comparable records began in 2015, according to the report.

Driving speeds on the network dropped to an average of 55.1mph in September, and have fallen by an average of 2mph since the start of the year.

A record number of roadworks is attributed as a cause of the slow-down which is a huge concern especially with many of them plagued by bottlenecks through a lack of capacity and outdated design. Road maintenance and its inevitable disruption is frustrating but necessary. But patching up existing roads alone won’t give us the network we need. We’re campaigning for more road building to boost growth – and we’re hopeful that a reformed National Planning Policy Framework will clear some obstacles along the way.

We want to see the Government commit to increasing road capacity to make journeys more efficient and take a sizeable chunk out of the £30bn that congestion costs our economy each year. The green light for the long-awaited Lower Thames Crossing next year and other major road schemes would be a big boost to businesses and other roads users and would help the Government deliver on its mission to drive economic growth.

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