Road

The UK Government has announced a new £15bn investment plan to triple levels of spending benefiting the east of England as part of the new ‘Road Investment Strategy’.

The plan announced by the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin and chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander, is aimed at increasing the capacity and condition of England’s roads.

Under the new plan, the east of England will benefit from 15 new schemes and create an estimated 1,000 construction jobs.

Patrick McLoughlin said: "Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.

"This government has a long-term plan to secure the country’s future and this £15bn roads programme is demonstration of that."

"This government has a long-term plan to secure the country’s future and this £15bn roads programme is demonstration of that. It will directly benefit hardworking families across the east of England."

The investment will see dualling of the A428 to create a continuous ‘expressway’ from Cambridge to Bedford and Milton Keynes.

Out of the total investment, more than £300m will be used to transform the A47 around Peterborough, Norwich and Great Yarmouth, which includes dualling the road from Peterborough to the A1, upgrades around Norwich to create a 30-mile stretch of continuous dual carriageway.

Improvements will also be made to the Acle Straight and junctions around Norwich.

As part of the new plan, first phase of a major upgrade to the A12 will take place, with the addition of a third lane between Chelmsford and Colchester and rebuilding of the A12/M25 junction and technology improvements along the whole route.

An upgrade will be made to the two-lane section of the A1(M) around Stevenage, in addition to improvements to the notorious Black Cat roundabout on the A1.

A link road will be established from the A5 to the M1 near Dunstable, including a new Junction 11A, which will allow for 7,000 new homes at Houghton Regis and at Harlow on the M11, £50m of extra improvements to Junction 7.

Danny Alexander said: "These projects, like the scheme on the A14 in Cambridge, will help unleash the economic potential of both the regions they serve and of the overall economy."

Image: Under the new £15bn plan, the east of England will benefit from 15 new schemes. Photo: courtesy of UK Government.