The government is tripling funding on the road network over the next eight years with more than £24bn to be spent on upgrading and improving the network until 2021.
This locked-in funding commitment will sustain an estimated 30,000 new construction jobs.
Roads Minister Robert Goodwill said that the time had come for contractors to take on more apprentices and for suppliers to ensure they have the capacity to deal with raised demand.
By the end of the next parliament, the government will be spending £3bn each year on improvements and maintenance for the strategic network alone.
Investment in yearly amounts including spending rounds of October 2010, November 2011, December 2012, June 2013 and pre-October 2010. Click graphic to enlarge
Goodwill said: “Funding certainty is critical to the construction industry in planning for the future and that is exactly what the government has delivered.
“However, we need to make sure everyone is ready to deliver the massive programme of investment that we need to keep Britain’s roads moving.
“To do that, we need to make sure we have the right people and equipment in place to deliver the 53 road schemes in preparation right now, plus the next generation of improvements over the next 7 years.
“Along with investing £10.7bn in major improvements for our strategic roads from 2015 to 2020/21, the government is also investing £6.1bn in resurfacing 80% of the strategic network, with another £6bn being spent on tackling potholes on local authority roads.
“The funding announced in the 2013 Spending Review along with the Department for Transport’s ‘Action for Roads’ – a command paper that sets out the long-term vision for the road network from 2015 – will provide contractors with the security to make commercial decisions based on long-term funding.”
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