£2,000m 'route strategy' roads plan
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• A new "route strategy" to speed traffic flow between towns throughout Britain, is to be put forward by Mr. Richard Marsh, Minister of Transport.
It is based on an estimated investment, in roads of about ,E2,000m over the next 10-15 years.
The plan, announced at the week-end, is to be set out in a Green Paper. Mr. Marsh explained that there was no monopoly of wisdom on the subject, and he wanted it to be open to discussion and amendment. Publication is expected in about three weeks.
The objective, said Mr. Marsh, was to see how the contemplated expenditure could best be applied to ensuring a network of roads which would place every part of the country within easy reach of fast efficient roads to other parts of the country.
"Each improvement of existing roads will be seen not against the background of that particular stretch of road, but how it affects the total route strategy", he said. "I think we have wasted a vast amount of money on stretches of road and spent too little on total routes."
Now the "Marples Programme" for 1,000 miles of motorway was in sight of completion by the early 1970s, the question had to be asked: was this the best way to carry on?