The chancellor’s interviews prior to his Autumn Statement on Wednesday have highlighted his intention to allocate £1.3billion to address road congestion issues, with a further £220 million to be spent improving traffic “pinch points”.
This is welcome news. What is also welcome is Mr. Hammond’s declaration that he wants to see money targeted on infrastructure projects- like roads and railways- which will provide maximum long-term benefit to the economy. This is in stark contrast to the former Labour government’s reliance on flashy PFI projects which brought temporary gains but left crippling debt in their wake.
It is estimated that 100 million working days will be lost between now and 2040 due to road congestion, costing families £13billion every year. Every motorist stranded in stationary traffic on our A1237 ring road can count the costs to themselves, their businesses and to their own families . This is why York Conservatives continue to fight to secure the funds needed to duall this road, and why we support the chancellor’s focus on rebuilding the infrastructure our economy needs to thrive.