Department for Transport has announced another £165M of funding for 62 local pinch point schemes. It is the second tranche of funding in the £190M programme. With the new commitment 72 schemes now have the cash to go ahead and combined with local contributions the total investment is more than £300M, the DfT said.

The successful schemes in the latest tranche of projects include improvements and upgrades to vital roads and bridges, new access routes and enhancements to address congestion at local hotspots. Many of the projects will enhance provision for local buses and improve facilities for cycling and walking.

“Investing in these schemes shows that the Government is serious about accelerating growth where it is needed most,” Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said. “These schemes have the potential to help create more than 100,000 jobs and around 100,000 new homes.”

Highlights from the list include:

• £4.5M towards the £16M, 2km final link in the Bedford western bypass linking the A428 at Bromham with the A6 north of Bedford
• £5M towards the £38M, 3.3km road connecting Houghton Regis and industrial estates at Dunstable with the new M1 Junction 11 being constructed as part of the A5-M1 link road
• £2.9M towards the £10.5M Crediton link road in Devon
• £5M towards the £8.7M cost of a new bridge across the M1 in Leicestershire
• £1.8M towards £12.3M of essential maintenance to the Tennison Road overbridge in Croydon to increase capacity to accommodated buses, cyclists and HGV traffic
• £5M towards construction of a £10.6M ‘hamburger’ style roundabout (where the main road passes though the centre of the roundabout) where roads from Didcot, Milton Park, Harwell and Wantage join the A34 in Oxfordshire
• £4.6M towards phase five of the Lowestoft northern spine road in Suffolk
• £5M towards the £14M cost of new highway access to the Etruria Valley site in Stoke on Trent from the A500
• £2.3M towards a £3.2M full structural refurbishment of the 130 year old Ovingham Bridge over the Tyne in Northumberland.

(Photo: Google Maps) 

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