Rural campaigners criticise ‘soaring’ roads cost

The increasing costs of building new roads has been criticised by countryside campaigners.

The Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) said that the cost of 96 national and local road schemes have increased since they were first approved, with the bill for 39 national road proposals increasing by an extra £1.3 billion. The costs of 21 road schemes have also doubled on original estimates.

Campaigners claim that the figures, released in answers to Parliamentary questions by Colin Challen and John Hayes MPs, mean that constructing one mile of motorway now costs an average of £23 million, while a mile of dual carriageway costs £12 million.

The information comes on the eve of the deadline for local authorities to submit their new Five Year Local Transport Plans to the government, which will include proposals for more roads.

Paul Hamblin, CPRE’s Head of Transport Policy, said: “The Transport White Paper recognises that road building offers no long term solution to today’s transport problems. And yet Ministers and many local authorities continue with plans, which will see more tarmac laid over green fields. These figures show that there is a high price to pay – for the taxpayer as well as everyone who cares for our countryside.

“While some increases in costs may be justifiable, we are seeing significant major increases for many, many schemes. It appears that once the green light is given for these roads, the cots just escalate. With local authorities bidding for more road schemes, this needs to stop.”

The CPRE has called for more investment in sustainable transport measures, including public transport, safety schemes and improvements for walking and cycling.

The Highways Agency said that other factors, such as fluctuations in land and property values had affected the costs of road building, but said it was aiming to keep costs down.

(KMcA/SP)