UK government kick starts £2bn transport spending spree
The government has begun a £2bn spending spree on the UK’s transport infrastructure, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps.
Shapps said at today’s press briefing that the government had begun a slew of road and rail projects, which were first announced in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto.
Shapps said the government was in the process of repairing bridges, improving roads, installing electric vehicle charging stations on motorways and filling in millions of potholes.
The lion’s share of the funding, £1.7bn, is going toward road upgrades.
Shapps said: “To make sure Britain is ready to bounce back from coronavirus, today I can announce nearly £2bn to upgrade our roads, and our railways.
“By filling millions of dangerous potholes, we can make our roads safer and encourage more people to cycle or even take part in the upcoming e-scooter trials.
“This investment will help fix damage caused by the winter flooding…and fund numerous road improvement schemes.”
Shapps added that the new spending would give an economic boost to lower socio-economic areas as a part of the government’s “levelling up” agenda.
“By combining fast home internet access and with vastly updated transport connections, we can help revive many of our small and medium sized towns which over the decades have been left behind,” he said.
It comes on the same day mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the government that Transport for London (TfL) needed a bailout today or else it would effectively run out of cash.
He said TfL was about to fall below the £1.2bn threshold it’s require to have by government law and that he would cut services if a bailout wasn’t granted today.
It is understood City Hall is after £2bn.
Downing Street said today that talks were in an advanced stage.