PACKAGE OF IMPROVEMENTS TO TACKLE NOISE

1 Apr 2003 11:15 AM

The Government today stepped up its commitment to tackling congestion, improving road safety and reducing noise levels on roads, with a package of new road improvements, announced by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.

The balanced package of decisions focuses on some of the most congested points on the trunk road network and provides localised solutions to deal with congestion. It includes junction improvements to improve traffic flow and an upgrade of the main east-west road through Cambridgeshire. But the upgrade to the A556 was rejected because of its negative impact on the surrounding environment.

For the first time there is a timetable for the removal of all the concrete surfaces on the motorway and trunk road network. In the first phase alone, over 11,500 homes across the country will benefit from reduced traffic noise, and journeys on these roads will be quieter for motorists too.

Alistair Darling announced:
- The resurfacing of 74 stretches of road where the concrete surface is noisy. The first phase of 26, costing £77 million, will benefit over 11,500 properties and tackle the stretches of concrete road that affect the largest number of people.
- A14 - this will be made a dual three-lane carriageway between Huntingdon and Cambridge. The £490 million project will improve road safety and reduce congestion on this busy trunk road, helping improve journey times thereby bringing real benefits to motorists and local communities.
- A57/A628 - a £90m bypass around the villages of Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle. This approach strikes an equitable balance between the problems in these villages, the impacts of traffic in the National Park and wider safety concerns along the route.
- A45/A46 - major junction improvements at Tollbar End, Coventry. This £57m project will improve safety and reduce congestion at this key junction, and will include a new underpass beneath the roundabout as well as a direct link from the A45 to the Middlemarch Business Park and Coventry Airport to the east.
- A5/A483 - £40m junctions and public transport improvements to the Shrewsbury to Chester Road. The Highways Agency will take forward the improvement of the A55/A483 and the A5/A49 Bailey's Roundabout junctions, and public transport improvements will be developed by local authorities: Shropshire County Council received resources for this as part of the 2003/2004 Local Transport Settlement. - Further preparatory work on improvements to the M40/A46 Longbridge roundabout and junctions along the A38 in Derby before they can be approved.
- The upgrade to motorway standard of the A556 between the M6 and M56 has been rejected on environmental grounds. Work on small-scale measures to improve the road is being developed.
- Improvements to M6 junction 20 have been rejected.

Alistair Darling said:
"Today's announcement is a further step in our plans to deal with the most congested points on the road network. We remain committed to tackling congestion and reducing the number of accidents on our roads. This package will deliver those benefits and provide welcome relief from heavy traffic for communities who live near busy roads.

"We now have a programme to remove concrete surfaces from the trunk road network that will benefit many thousands of households across the country. We have prioritised the re-surfacing so that the worst affected homes are first. In the first phase to be resurfaced over 11,500 homes will have the blight of traffic noise reduced.

"The improvement of the A14 also demonstrates our commitment to supporting the Government's plans for accelerated growth in the London-Stansted-Cambridge area, as set out in the Communities Plan. Improving transport links is a great incentive for economic development and I am sure that the East of England will benefit from this upgrade to a vital route."

Notes to Editors

1. Today's announcement amounts to a £755m package of improvement.

2. The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, announced in 1998 the entry of a number of road schemes into the Government's Targeted Programme of road Improvements (TPI), and the setting up of the multi-modal and road- based studies on the most congested parts of the trunk roads network. At the same time he announced that a further seven schemes were not sufficiently advanced to be considered for the TPI but which the Government wished to be progressed by the Highways Agency and, if endorsed by the relevant Regional Planning Bodies would be taken forward as quickly as possible, subject only to the availability of funds.

3. This announcement today concerns the final two of the "to be progressed" schemes - A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle bypass, and the A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement and the final three of the road-based studies - M40/A46 Longbridge Roundabout, A5/A483 Shrewsbury to Chester and A38 Derby Junctions. It also concerns a trunk road scheme which was recommended by the Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi-modal study, the dualling to three lanes of the A14 between Ellington and Fen Ditton (CHUMMS).

4. Mitigating the impact of traffic on the people who live alongside roads is as important as trying to ensure that people can travel safely and reliably. For this reason we will be installing quieter surfacing on over 60% of the trunk road network, including all concrete stretches, within the period of the 10 year plan period.

5. The Communities Plan was published on 5th February 2003 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It sets out a long-term programme of action for building successful, thriving and inclusive communities in all regions. Central to the Plan are proposals to deliver an increase in housing provision through indentified growth areas in Thames Gateway, London-Stansted- Cambridge, Ashford and Milton Keynes - South Midlands. These areas are being developed by the relevant local and regional partners in co-operation with Government Departments and Agencies.

6. PROGRAMME FOR RESURFACING OF CONCRETE ROADS FOR 2004-05 TO 2006-07 (SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS)

Schemes where the resurfacing will benefit more than 100 properties per km or, where the road was opened after June 1988, the current noise level is 3dB(A) greater than predicted. This is equivalent to the noise increase expected from a doubling of the volume of traffic on a road.

Concrete Road Section Description
Concrete Section Length (km)
Affected Properties per km

M1 - A1 Link 15.5 8
M1 Junctions 5 - 8 8.0 234
M6 Junction 12 - Penkridge 5.3 126
M20 Junction 1 / M25 J3 1.1 138
M20 Junctions 8-9 20.4 14
M25 Junctions 9 - 10 7.8 227
M27 Junctions 5-7 5.7 145
M60 Junctions 1-2 1.7 277
A5 Milton Keynes (A422-A508) 6.3 163
A11: B1172 to A47 13.7 5
A12 Ingateston - Margaretting 4.4 102
A12 Hatfield Peverel - Witham 5.2 117
A13: A1306 to M25 J30 3.0 273
A14 Claydon - B1067 underbridge 3.0 118
A27 Chichester to Havant 13.8 70
A30 Honiton to Exeter 16.2 4
A34 Peartree - Weston 8.0 11
A47 East Dereham: (Scarning Fen - East Dereham) 3.3 142
A50: Doveridge Bypass 4.0 12
A419/A417 Cirencester & Latton Bypasses 14.2 8
A1 Balderton - Coddington * 3.0 37
A1 North Muskham - Carlton on Trent * 5.7 12
M5 Junction 26-27 Contract 3 * 4.2 5
M42 Junctions 9 - 10 * 5.1 28
M69 Junction 2 - M1 Contract 1 * 4.8 8
M62 Junctions 37-38 9.1 2

Note: Those schemes indicated with an asterisk are included in this table because they are planned for delivery in 2004/05 due to normal maintenance needs. A1 North Muskham - Carlton on Trent is planned to start in 2004/05 and complete in 2005/06.

PROGRAMME FOR RESURFACING OF CONCRETE ROADS FROM 2007-08 to 2010-2011

Concrete Road Section Description
Concrete Section Length (km)
Affected Properties per km

M6 Penkridge - Jct 13* 3.8 17
M11 Jct 8 - B1038 * 12.1 19
M18 Junctions 5 - 6 2.3 2
M20 Junction 3 - A20 West Kingsdown* 6.6 30
M25 Junctions 10 -11 9.2 26
M25 Junctions 24-25* 8.5 50
M25 Junctions 8-9 7.2 14
M42 Junctions 3a-4 3.5 20
M54: A5 - A41 9.3 22
M271 Junction 1 to A3057 2.8 22
A1 (M) J1 (South Mimms)* 1.9 12
A11 - Barton Mills* 2.8 13
A12 Contract 11: Kelvedon Bypass- Eight Ash Green* 7.7 28 A12 Margaretting - Boreham 13.4 19
A14 B1067 underbridge - Copdock Interchange 3.3 98
A14 Copdock Interchange - A12 8.0 21
A19 Billingham Bypass* 4.2 65
A30 Longrock Bypass 1.8 38
A35 Tolpuddle - Puddletown 7.2 2
A43 Towcester* 3.3 43
A50 Derby Southern Bypass* 0.5 51
A52 Bottesford Bypass 4.8 7
A120 Elmstead - Wix Eastbound 8.0 14
A168/A19 Thirsk Bypass* 8.0 41
A249: M2 - Iwade 7.9 76
A483: B5445 - Welsh Boundary 3.1 0
M3 Junctions 8-9* 9.0 3
M4 Junction 10 slip roads* 0.5 0
M11 Junctions 5-6* 4.7 6
M18 Moorends - Greenland* 4.9 1
M23 Junction 10 - 9 NB 1.3 1
M25 Junctions 27-28* 5.6 3
M26 Junction 2a - M20* 0.8 7
M53 Junctions 11-12 (A56-M56)* 3.9 9
M54: A41 - A449 12.9 7
M56 Junction 15 (M53) - A5117* 3.0 1
A14 A12 - Levington 3.7 1
A14 Elmswell 3.6 5
A30 Whiddon Down to Okehampton 6.9 1
A46 Six Hills - Widmerpool* 9.5 0
A47 East Dereham: Wendling - Scarning Fen 4.3 7
A50 Blythe Bridge to Uttoxeter* 12.4 6
A50: Foston Hatton Hilton Bypass* 3.6 9
A120: A12 - Elmstead 4.5 6
A160: A1077- A180 4.4 0
A180: Habrough to Grimsby* 11.5 9
A180: M180 - Ulceby* 8.0 1
A303 Ilminster Bypass* 8.8 2

Note: Those schemes indicated with an asterisk may be progressed earlier for road safety reasons, as part of routine maintenance, dependent on the results of further surveys.

In addition, the sites below will have noise mitigation work carried out in 2003/04. Resurfacing work is being carried out primarily for road safety reasons, as part of routine maintenance.

Site/Type of Work
M1 Junctions 1-2 Resurfacing Concrete Road
M1 J10 - 11, Luton Noise Barrier
M1 near J28 Noise Barrier
M4 J5-6 Datchet, Brands Hill Noise Barrier
M5 Junctions 26 to 27 Contract 2 Resurfacing Concrete Road M5 Junction 27 south to Willand Resurfacing Concrete Road M20 Junctions 11a-11 Resurfacing Concrete Road
M20 Junctions 13-11a Resurfacing Concrete Road
M25 Junctions 26-27 Resurfacing Concrete Road
M42 Junctions 2 - 3a Resurfacing Concrete Road
M50 Bromsberrow Heath Noise Barrier
M180 Sandtoft - Junction 2 Resurfacing Concrete Road
A1 Winthorpe - Coddington Resurfacing Concrete Road
A12 Witham - Kelvedon Resurfacing Concrete Road
A36: M27 rdbt to Circuit Road rdbt Resurfacing Concrete Road

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