Uttoxeter’s MP, Kate Griffiths, has secured a meeting with the Roads Minister, Baroness Vere of Norbition, after it was announced upgrades to the A50 junction to the east of Uttoxeter, also known as Project B, would not be included in the Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2): 2020 to 2025.
The news comes after the successful completion of Project A which has seen major improvements and reconfigurations to Uttoxeter’s Western Junction of the A50 to cut congestion and improve journey times.
Following the announcement Project B won’t be in RIS2, Kate wrote to the Roads Minister to request an urgent meeting about the plans and their future.
The Minister gave some insight into why the plans hadn’t been included in RIS2 with Highways England’s latest estimates suggesting a substantial increase in costs to £200 million, close to a record for a single junction. However, the Minister added some cause for hope, saying both Highways England and Midlands Connect were undertaking work looking at how it could be delivered at better value-for-money. The Minister also agreed to meet with Kate, highlighting the positive impact it could have on the future work.
Kate said, “After the successful completion of Project A, it is disappointing this work has not been included in the latest Roads Strategy.
It is of course important that costs are taken into consideration, but it is also the case that Project B would bring significant travel and economic benefits by further improving traffic flow and creating more jobs.
The A50 is a crucial road connecting the West and East Midlands and I look forward to meeting with the Minister to continue building the case for these improvements”.
