NEWS STORY : Government Admits £8.3 Billion from Rail Investment Infra-Structure Needed to Repair Under-funded Roads

STORY

The Government had suggested that under-funding in the road network has led to £8.3 billion needing to be transferred from the rail infra-structure investment, saying car owners may now save “£440 on vehicle repairs” due to the number of potholes. Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, said:

“We’re on the side of drivers, which is why this government is getting on with delivering our plan to invest an additional £8.3 billion in the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.”

Andy Street, the Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands, said that the HS2 cutback was challenging from the region and said earlier in the year that “to do nothing is not an option”. Street said following the announcement that HS2 would be scrapped that:

“HS2 was about uniting the nation by building a transport spine connecting its major cities, a totemic project linking and levelling up communities at the same time. It was about delivering for the Northern Powerhouse and creating a more balanced national economy. It was about thinking big, showing ambition and building something for future generations.”