£196m to boost region’s transport links

The Government has announced a £196m investment to improve roads and other transport connections across Yorkshire and the Humber.

The Department for Transport says hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds worth of upgrades have already been made to the nation’s road and rail networks during the lockdown period, with more planned over the coming weeks and months.

Cash for Yorkshire will come from the £1.7bn Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund, intended to help every area in England outside London to improve its roads, repair bridges and fill in millions of potholes.

The package will target around 1.3 million nuisance potholes across Yorkshire and the Humber alone.

It will also see smaller improvements completed to upgrade local networks, such as enhancing road safety at key locations, the installation of priority bus lanes and the creation of projects to help lock in improvements in air quality experienced during lockdown.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: “It is vital we continue to stay at home and only travel when it is essential to do so, but as people slowly begin to return to our roads over the coming weeks and months, we want to ensure they are in the best shape possible.

“The funding we are allocating will help make journeys smoother, quicker and safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.”

In addition, councils across Yorkshire and the Humber have taken advantage of the quiet periods on the roads to safely carry out key works – including Doncaster Council which brought forward key congestion projects and utility works to take advantage of the reduced traffic volumes.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has worked to ensure the vast majority of highway and civil engineering works could safely continue throughout the lockdown – including the £4m Shiptonthorpe Roundabout scheme to improve traffic flows along the major commercial route between Hull and York.