The government has earmarked an additional £80 million worth of funding to tackle pinch points that clog up traffic flow on local roads throughout the country.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the extra funding was required to remove road bottlenecks, and builds on the £190 million already allocated earlier this year to similar local congestion-busting schemes throughout the UK.
Of that £80 million, £25 million has been awarded to 15 existing schemes to help ease traffic on local roads. The secretary of state also said he was inviting local councils to submit bids by the end of October for a share of the remaining £55 million.
Many of the improvements are expected to be delivered in 2014 and 2015, and the extra investment brings the total number of schemes to receive money from the government’s Local Pinch Point Fund to 87.
Since March, the government has provided over £215 million to local authorities, which it said has enabled local transport improvements of over £340 million to go ahead.
“Keeping traffic moving is vital to securing prosperity,” said transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin. “By removing local bottlenecks and improving access to local development sites and communities, these schemes will help get people to and from work and power the economy.”
