Almost half of the Highways Agency's budget for the next 10 years will be spent on new-build projects, it was revealed this week.
The agency will have 拢22bn to spend during this period, compared with its current annual budget of 拢1.4bn. The extra 拢6bn was announced by deputy prime minister John Prescott in July as part of the government's 10 year plan for transport.
The Highways Agency, which has published its own 10-year strategy, Roads for the Future, predicted that about 拢10bn would be provided for new-build projects, 20% would be invested in high-tech traffic solutions to manage bottlenecks electronically, and the remaining third would be earmarked for maintenance.
The agency will be seeking private sector funding through PFI-style contracts to cover 25% of the total value of all projects.
