Roads programme for the UK going astray

Progress on the UK’s road development programme looks to be falling behind schedule due to a series of problems. The five year plan announced in April 2015 called for 112 major upgrades to key road links in the UK. However the €12.68 billion (£11 billion) programme is now over budget by a worrying €729 million (£841 million). So far only six projects are ahead of schedule or on track, while 19 will be delayed beyond 2020. The programme called for an addition al 2,080km on the smart highways system. There are 54 projects that will not commence until 2019 and a further 16 projects have been identified as offering poor value for money, requiring them to be either redesigned or abandoned altogether.