Britain’s slowest A-roads are so outdated and in desperate need of repair that they are stunting economic growth, a new report has warned.
The roads, many of which were originally designed during the 1960s, are causing a financial disparities between regions – particularly within ‘large cities in the Midlands and the North’.
A report published by the National Infrastructure Commission, sent to the Treasury and Department for Transport, found some of the country’s slowest A-roads have average speeds of below 30mph.
The A40 between Cheltenham and Oxford, the A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne and the A52 between Grantham and Nottingham have all been cited as needing urgent investment.
The report also highlighted concerns about the quality of road networks around key ports in Southampton and Dover, where freight distribution often leads to heavy congestion.
Heavy traffic pictured on the A13, one of the UK’s slowest moving A-roads, at Christmas last year
Key stretches linking cities and towns to local motorway networks, including around Sunderland and Sheffield, were also included within the report.
It says: ‘Most of the key links on the network were originally designed during the 1960s and a number of structures need renewing or work to extend their life.
‘Risks associated with ageing assets, heavy use, extreme weather linked to climate change, a maintenance backlog on local roads, and in some cases a lack of alternative routes all present increasing challenges to resilience.’
Setting out a strategy for enhancing growth in underperforming regions, it adds: ‘Achieving this strategic goal means particularly supporting the economies of regional cities.
‘Large cities in the Midlands and the North are not achieving their productivity potential, which is the main driver of the overall disparities between regions.
‘Providing good transport links between them is a necessary – if not sufficient – condition to improve economic performance.
‘High income towns tend to be near cities with higher productivity, indicating that the benefits of successful cities spread out into their surrounding regions.’
Improving road networks could allow under-performing regions to ‘specialise in particular sectors and increase their productivity’, it continues.
Driving remains the primary form of travel for the majority of Britons, with 82 per cent of passenger journeys longer than 10 miles made by car.
Around 77 per cent of domestic freight is also moved by road.
The report also highlighted concerns about the quality of road networks around key ports in Southampton and Dover. Pictured: Traffic on the A20 to get to the Port of Dover in Kent last week
Heavy traffic is pictured along the A4 Hammersmith Flyover, which has been identified as one of Britain’s slowest moving A-roads
The report suggests increasing the supply of transport infrastructure could boost GDP by up to 0.06 per cent.
The scale of the impact is also said to be higher than roads than it would be for developing Britain’s rail network.
But the report acknowledged that development of Britain’s road network would currently be to the further detriment of environmental issues including biodiversity and air quality.
Transport produced nearly a quarter of the UK’s total carbon emissions – the largest of any sector.
Sir John Armitt, the chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: ‘Removing bottlenecks is crucial for boosting trade between key towns, cities and freight hubs, but it can’t be done at the expense of the environment.
‘We need to strain every sinew to enable drivers to switch to electric vehicles with confidence, and make road-building less carbon-intensive.’
The report has made a number of recommendations, including calling on the government to set out a vision that ensures the economic performance of high productivity regions is maintained and faster growth of low-performing regions is supported.
It also said the government must identify corridors for future development that will help reduce economic disparities.
It comes after research from Forbes Advisor last month found highways in England and Wales need £14 billion worth of repairs and that there are 22,600 miles of road in ‘poor’ overall condition – almost the equivalent length of the equator.
The Welsh government also axed all the country’s major road-building projects in February in a bid to put environmental concerns first.
The decision was announced by Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, who said all infrastructure projects in future must now ‘reduce carbon emissions and support a shift to public transport, walking and cycling’.
It followed a year-long review by the Welsh Roads Review Panel which was set up in September 2021 and led by transport expert Dr Lynn Sloman, during which 55 road projects were paused and reassessed.
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