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Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

Urban gridlock costs economy £4.4bn

GRIDLOCK in urban areas is costing car-commuting households £4.4 billion a year, according to a report. Congestion in London accounts for £2 billion of the overall annual cost, the report by traffic information company Inrix and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) showed. The report was compiled by studying congestion in the UK's 18 largest urban areas.

McLaren P1 concept

The McLaren P1 concept – the company's flagship hypercar model – will make its world debut at the Paris motor show next week ahead of the production model some time next year. These first images reveal an exterior that's more expressive in its surfacing and graphics than the existing MP4-12C, with a particular motif made of McLaren's 'tick' logo through the DRG. Its bodywork also appears to be layered over the underlying carbon structure that appears around the nose, rear and door panel, which hint at the diagonal bar that ran through the F1's doors, although here it dives downwards rather than creating a wedge.