Container transport companies travelling in and around Reading, Chippenham and Reading are among those poised to benefit from the most recent funding round, thanks to the Local Pinch Point Fund from the Department for Transport.
Across England, more than 60 schemes are aimed at easing jams at local congestion hotspots, with £165m of investment from the government. The money will be put to use upgrading highways and bridges, and developing new access routes.
This is the second slice of cash from the £190m fund, launched in December of last year. The first, released in March, paid for 10 schemes.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLaoughlin said: “The idea is to target bottlenecks across the country and make things easier for the many drivers who use the road network daily.”
More strategically, the Highways Agency, which looks after motorways and a number of major A roads across England, is mapping out longer-term investment. It will be focusing on the A1 west of Newcastle-on-Tyne, part of Essex’s A12, and the A120 at Colchester, as well as the M62 which connects Leeds with Manchester.
A new route-based approach at the Highways Agency means the organisation will be considering key stretches of road running for several miles rather than, for example, one junction. Key industry associations for freight and container transport have welcomed this.
However, the Freight Transport Association says it wants nationwide strategic considerations rather than local considerations to prevail, and has also stressed its opposition to a UK-wide tolling system, which the Department insists will not be introduced.