Skip to main content

New strategic road links planned for UK

New road upgrades are planned in the UK to reduce congestion and improve safety for vehicle drivers. Upgrades will be carried out to the A1 west of the city of Newcastle, the A12 in Essex to the east of capital London and the M62 motorway that connects the cities of Manchester and Leeds. Studies will be carried out first to identify the needs for other routes forming the country’s strategic road network. The necessary strategy will be produced for all routes in the second quarter of 2014, allowing a network
May 21, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
New road upgrades are planned in the UK to reduce congestion and improve safety for vehicle drivers. Upgrades will be carried out to the A1 west of the city of Newcastle, the A12 in Essex to the east of capital London and the M62 motorway that connects the cities of Manchester and Leeds. Studies will be carried out first to identify the needs for other routes forming the country’s strategic road network. The necessary strategy will be produced for all routes in the second quarter of 2014, allowing a network-wide assessment of problems and challenges and an overview of the steps needed to be taken to address problems. The study will also be used to prioritise solutions to be delivered during the next spending review period and beyond. An evidence based approach to assessing challenges on a network-wide basis will allow the 2309 Highways Agency and the 5432 Department for Transport to prioritise operational, maintenance and if appropriate, road improvement schemes, helping to inform investment plans for the next full spending review in 2015.

Meanwhile work on a new link road will go ahead in Taunton after receiving final approval. The work is needed to improve east-west connections across Taunton and open up access to new development. The scheme will see Somerset County Council construct a new road linking Staplegrove Road in the west of the town to Priory Avenue in the east. The work involves the construction of 1.6km of new carriageway and the realignment of a further 150m of existing carriageway. It also includes construction of a new bridge over the River Tone and the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, the replacement of a former rail bridge, the replacement of and existing footbridge and provision of pedestrian and cycle facilities. Other works include a new roundabout at the junction of Staplegrove Road and Chip Lane and modifications to the existing roundabout at the junction of Priory Avenue and Priory Fields.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New bridge installed in UK over busy rail line
    January 12, 2016
    Work to install a new bridge for the UK’s busiest rail freight line has been carried out over the A160 at the Port of Immingham. The project forms part of the Port of Immingham Improvement Scheme, a €118.15 million (£88.4 million) series of works being carried out on behalf of Highways England. The project involves upgrading 5km of the A160 from single carriageway to dual carriageway, and constructing a number of new structures. Because of the volume of rail traffic using the stretch of track, the new bridg
  • UK road investment strategy questioned
    July 31, 2023
    A report from the House of Commons Transport Committee recommended cancellation of some major new projects such as the Stonehenge Tunnel and the Lower Thames Crossing.
  • Linking Kenya and Uganda with a new road project
    May 10, 2018
    An upgraded road link will improve transport between Uganda and Kenya - Shem Oirere reports Rainfall patterns and type of soil in an agricultural rich area shared by the neighbouring East African countries of Kenya and Uganda was a key consideration in arriving at the decision to upgrade to bitumen standards 73km of the 118km Kapchorwa-Kitale road that links the two countries. Initially, Uganda had proposed to have the road between Kapchorwa and Suam on its border with Kenya re-gravelled and widened to a
  • Germany is developing infrastructure plans
    March 21, 2016
    The German Government's new transport investment strategy will see increased spending until 2030. The Ministry for Transport says that the emphasis will be on renovating existing infrastructure, instead of building new projects. Around 70% of investment will be for renovation and improvement projects, compared to 56% in the previous transport strategy. The plan is worth a total of €264.5 billion, an increase of €91 billion over the previous plan, with 49.4% targeted at road projects, 41.3% for rail and 9.3%