Engineering firm throws weight behind ‘drastic need’ for road funding
Siemens’ Lincoln business says it is backing Midlands Connect’s 20-year improvement plan for the A46 corridor, saying road investment is “essential” for the company to create jobs and continue to invest in the city.
The firm, which employs 1,500 people at several bases in Lincoln, services industrial gas turbines from more than 90 countries from its Global Service Operations Centre (GSOC) at Teal Park, located on the A46.
Siemens says the GSOC, which celebrated its first anniversary in April, stores 30,000 parts and fulfils around 1,200 shipments every month, and relies on the A46 as a prime route for completing deliveries to customers in the UK, and for accessing ports and airports to distribute orders worldwide.
Siemens is supporting Midlands Connect’s plan for the A46, which covers a 155 mile stretch of the road and highlights Lincoln and Newark amongst the main pinch points on the A46 where average speeds at rush hour are regularly below 20mph.
Midlands Connect says its overall improvement plan for the A46 corridor, from Lincolnshire to Gloucestershire, could add an estimated £7.1bn to the UK economy.
One in five businesses in Lincolnshire surveyed by Midlands Connect and Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce said they have considered relocating due to poor traffic conditions on the A46, and nearly three quarters said they would create new jobs if the road was improved.
Rob Mercer, logistics manager, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery, Lincoln, said congestion can lose the company business: “We are finding a lot of congestion on the A46 throughout the day, especially around Lincoln and Newark. It can hold traffic up for an hour and a half, if not longer.
“Without the A46 we wouldn’t be able to hit our service pledges to our customers. The main hub for our couriers is East Midlands Airport, and we have to get parts there by 6pm to catch overnight planes to countries outside the UK. If we don’t hit those deadlines due to congestion, we miss a day.
“It’s a very highly competitive market, and in two years’ time [our customers] might be wanting deliveries within two days rather than three days, and unless we have that rolling infrastructure and investment, we can’t offer our customers that type of service, and Siemens could lose business.”
Midlands Connect, alongside Transport for the East Midlands (TfEM), has repeatedly called for confirmation from the government and Highways England that the A46 Newark Northern Bypass, first announced in 2014, is completed by 2025.
Longer term, Midlands Connect says it is looking at the potential for a southern Lincoln bypass, connecting to the under construction eastern bypass, targeted improvements on the A15 north of Lincoln, and junction improvements between the A1 and Lincoln.
Mercer added: “We need investment in the A46 from Lincoln down to Newark. There are several major roundabouts to get to the other side of Newark, and since the majority of our parts are travelling that way, through to East Midlands Airport or down to Dover, we drastically need that funding here.
“We can create jobs here in Lincoln and for the UK, and therefore we need that investment, for the sustainability of our business, and to continue to provide our customers with the level of service they require.
Maria Machancoses, director, Midlands Connect, said: “Using today’s approach to funding, it could be 40 years before the A46 receives the investment it needs to match the growth in jobs and housing expected along the corridor. We must do things differently and accelerate a long-term investment plan to make sure economic growth isn’t held back. Delivering our vision will not only make our businesses in Lincolnshire more prosperous, it will improve the quality of life of people living and working along the corridor. Doing nothing will hold back this progress.”
