'Pressure growing' on UK's roads

PRESSURE is growing on England's major road network in "this very cramped and busy island", the Highways Agency boss has told MPs.

The network has not changed much in the last 20 years, the agency's chief executive Graham Dalton told the House of Commons Transport Committee.

The strategic road network - motorways and major A roads - is vital for everyday business, he said.

Mr Dalton said: "The network remains at the same shape and size it was 20-odd years ago. Pressure on it is growing again."

In written evidence to the committee, the trade union side of the Highways Agency said the M6 Toll road in the West Midlands, opened in 2003, had "proved a disaster both as an investment and as a relief road".

Asked about the M6 Toll at today's hearing, Mr Dalton said 35,000 vehicles a day were using the road but 100,000 were using the main M6 route.

He said: "We are spending a lot of money to upgrade the old route when, on the face of it, we should be getting more traffic on the toll road."

He suggested that, with hindsight, it might have been been better to introduce a plan involving a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme for the toll road.

Asked about the agency's relationship with local councils, Mr Dalton said: "There are a lot of local authorities. I run a lean business. I don't think we offer a full active dialogue with all local authorities.

"Some of them will agree that we don't engage enough. I know some are quite happy. We need the dialogue with local authorities, but it varies."

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill, also appearing before the committee today, said there had been a lot of "stop-go" policies in transport infrastructure over the years, with not enough invested as there should have been.

Transport now had a much-improved budget and the UK still had a network on which people could get around the country, he added.

Mr Goodwill said a good rule was to put "I before E", with infrastructure (I) being put in place before expansion (E).

He added: "I think that particularly in south east England expansion has ripped ahead without the infrastructure catching up."

By Peter Woodman, Press Association