Extra lane plan to east motorway chaos may be a casualty of cuts

Businesses and motoring organisations are desperate for the schemes to go ahead to ease the gridlock after plans to widen the motorways were ditched by the last Government because they were considered too expensive.

Now with the Department Transport (DfT) braced for its budget to be cut by more than 25 per cent officials have refused to guarantee the work – some of which was due to start by 2012 – will go ahead on schedule.

Fears of delays have been heightened by the fact that coalition partners the Liberal Democrats campaigned during the General Election for spending on roads to be cut by 3bn, arguing the money should be devoted to railways instead.

Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce policy director Nick Pontone said: "Congestion on the vital arteries of the M1 and M62 adds to the operating costs of many businesses and traffic volumes are likely to rise further as the economy recovers.

"Hard shoulder running offers the potential to squeeze out every last bit of capacity and we think the Government can still prioritise this investment for Yorkshire despite the financial pressure it faces."

Plans for motorists to use motorway hard shoulders were unveiled by Labour in 2008 in a 6bn package to ease congestion as more expensive widening schemes were scrapped.

Government figures show it costs 6m per kilometre to adapt a motorway to "hard shoulder running", compared to 20m per kilometre to add an extra lane.

By 2012, work was due to start on junctions 32 to 35a of the M1 east of Sheffield, and junctions 25 to 30 of the M62, from Bradford to Leeds. And work was timetabled to start by 2015 to bring the hard shoulder into use on the M1 between junctions 28 and 31 south of Sheffield and 39 to 42 near Wakefield.

Overhead signs would tell motorists when they were able to use the extra lane, or it could be reserved only for vehicles with more than one occupant.

Businesses in the region have regularly identified congestion as one of the major issues they face, costing them millions of pounds in lost man hours or increased operating costs. Before the election Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce identified the hard shoulder schemes as among a series of key projects which should go ahead despite the Government's need to balance the books.

However, the DfT is likely to be among the departments hardest hit by cuts to be revealed in the autumn comprehensive spending review.

The hard shoulder schemes are likely to be seen as a cost-

effective way of easing congestion by the Tories, but the Liberal Democrats' opposition to roads spending is likely to see junior Transport Minister Norman Baker less supportive.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "For all the talk of railways, the hard fact is that more than nine out of 10 passenger journeys take place on the already congested road network; and faced with a growing population and economic recovery we need to increase road capacity to avoid gridlock.

"Our motorways are vital arteries and schemes like those on the M62 and M1 in Yorkshire must be maintained despite the temptation to cut them. If we are not going to build any new roads then at least we must increase capacity where we can on existing routes."

Labour's former Yorkshire Minister, Rosie Winterton, said: "It's absolutely vital we get on as quickly as possible with improving the motorway connections as the previous Labour government had proposed. Any delay is a blow to the economy of Yorkshire and the Humber."

A Labour dossier produced before the election identified the hard shoulder schemes as being among the transport projects at risk because of Tory plans to curb public spending.

A DfT spokesman said decisions on future spending would be made after the comprehensive spending review, due to be unveiled in the autumn.

Tourist hot spot to stay congested

A 2.4m park and ride scheme which was due to be relieving congestion in Whitby from summer 2011 has become the latest casualty of Government cuts.

After nearly a decade of calls to tackle the traffic problems blighting Whitby's roads, the 450-space scheme was finally about to become a reality at the junction of the A171 Whitby to Guisborough road and the B1460, near Cross Butts Farm.

But yesterday it was announced the scheme has been put "on hold" – along with every other project in North Yorkshire's integrated transport capital programme – following major cuts in Government grants.

County councillor John Fort, executive member for business and environmental services, said: "North Yorkshire has taken a big hit in the area of transport. We have had something in the region of a 7m cut in terms of our improvement schemes."