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12-lane freeways to ease crisis on roads Darling to announce spending of £6bn to widen motorways Juliette
Jowit Britain's first 12-lane superhighway, modelled on America's freeways, is set to be built in Britain as part of expansion plan costing up to £6bn to cope with the crisis on the country's roads. Faced with growing public discontent over traffic jams amid warnings that the roads system is overloaded, the Government is considering plans to introduce tolls on the extra 'hot' lanes, which would be faster and freer of traffic. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling will announce details of the scheme, which is likely to include widening part of the M42 in the Midlands to a 12-lane motorway; parts of the M25 round London and several stretches of the M1. Following a series of studies into congestion hotspots across the country, Darling is considering funding the projects by private toll road companies, which would charge drivers to use the extra lanes - another idea imported from America. The package of widening, bypasses and new junctions would be the biggest single road-building announcement since Labour came to power. However, it is likely to prompt a backlash from environmental campaigners worried about the effects on sensitive areas and noise pollution, while motoring groups fear the plans will not cope with the rising scale of the congestion problem. Darling, who last week signalled plans for satellite charging of motorists in congested inner-city routes at peak periods, hopes he can head off criticism that he is building new roads without planning longer-term measures to manage demand. Before he makes the roads announcement later this month, Darling will also oversee a series of major statements on some of the biggest problems on the railways and improving use of existing road space, in an attempt to quash criticisms that he is simply intent on building more roads. 'You can't have one without the other. You can't build your way out of trouble, nor can you price your way out of trouble. There are many strands to this,' one transport official said. The new measures follow growing government concern about how to rescue Labour's tattered transport policy. Ministers have been forced to admit that they will miss virtually every significant target in their 10-year transport plan, including the single most important promise - to cut congestion by 6 per cent over the decade. Instead delays will rise by 11-20 per cent. As the Government plans to expand the road network, the Government's Strategic Rail Authority is due to make two key statements this week, claiming that cutting and changing train services can make the timetable easier to run and better able to recover from disruption. The second announcement from the SRA will be an agreement to rescue the troubled upgrade of the West Coast mainline for Virgin's tilting trains, costing billions of pounds over-budget but freeing officials to plan much-needed improvements on other routes. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003
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