- Package also includes further £590 million to take forward the long-awaited Lower Thames Crossing, and follows record £15.6 billion investment in city region transport announced ahead of the Spending Review.
- Funding will ensure vital upgrades are made to tired bridges, flyovers and tunnels across Britain, supporting highly skilled job opportunities, delivering on the Plan for Change.
Drivers across the UK will benefit from major investments to improve vital road structures, alongside committing cash to finally deliver a new Thames Crossing, working with the private sector.
Across Great Britain, approximately 3,000 bridges are currently unable to support the heaviest vehicles, restricting access for agricultural and freight transport in regions, and slowing down journeys.
And nationally, the number of bridge collapses has also risen – a stark reminder of the need for urgent action to turn the tide on the decade of neglect.
The Structures Fund will inject cash into repairing run down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn out tunnels across Britain, and ensure other transport infrastructure is both more resilient to extreme weather events and to the demands of modern transport – making everyday journeys safer, smoother and more dependable.
The government is also pledging a further £590 million to take forward the Lower Thames Crossing, the most significant road building project in a generation and a national priority- ending the painfully slow approach seen before.
The new crossing will cut frustrating congestion at Dartford, better linking up motorists and businesses in the Midlands and North with key ports in the South East, and spreading growth throughout the regions as outlined in the Plan for Change. The government will look to bring in private finance and expertise to support this major project.
These investments come as part of the new 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which will be published later this week, and sets out clear, achievable and robust vision for projects over the next decade of renewal.
This also comes swiftly after a record £15.6 billion was announced at the Spending Review to enable local leaders to build long awaited projects like the Tyne and Wear Metro extension and the West Yorkshire Metro, and more investment to fund the TransPennine Route Upgrade and deliver East-West Rail.
The government is also delivering direct funding to support growth across the UK – with funding for five new rail stations in South Wales, and financial backing for carbon capture storage in Aberdeenshire.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said
When it comes to investing in Britain’s renewal, we’re going all in by going up against the painful disruption of closed bridges, crossings and flyovers, and ensure they’re fit to serve working people for decades to come.
Today’s investment also goes even further and faster to spread growth by providing critical funding to take forward the Lower Thames Crossing – not just boosting connectivity in the South East, but ensuring a smoother, less congested passage of vital goods from Europe to our regions.
This is a turning point for our national infrastructure, and we’re backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities, delivering on our Plan for Change.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said
We’re finally getting on with the Lower Thames Crossing — a crucial project to drive economic growth, that has been stuck in planning limbo for far too long.
This project is essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long term trade with Europe. It will speed up the movement of goods from South East England to the Midlands and the North, crucial to thousands of jobs and businesses.
Our structures fund will make long-overdue investments to repair ageing structures across the country, speeding up journeys, restoring pride and delivering our Plan for Change to boost the economy and support regional growth.
Capital investment today will not only address these immediate risks over the next five years, but create skilled jobs in construction, engineering and maintenance, support vital regeneration in local areas by improving connectivity, and boost local economies by improving access to jobs, education and services.
We will set out more detail about how funding will be allocated shortly. This funding is additional to the funding local authorities will receive for highways maintenance, which will be set out in due course.
