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 £22bn to spend during this period, compared with its current annual budget of £1.4bn. The extra £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 £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.
