"£50m. Estimate for Roads Now £24fm."
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ACCORDING to the official Estimates of Expenditure, the £50m. which was "to be approved" for road improvements duringnext three years has already shrunk to about E24irn. The estimate for 1954-5 is about L5m„ for 1955-6 approximately £7im., and about £12m. in 1956-7.
These figures were given in a statement released last week by the Roads Improvement Association.
• Analysing what happened to the estimated expenditure for 1952-3, the stater:170 ment quoted the estimate as being £2,855,000. Only £1,739,917 of this was spent, " saving " £1,115.083, or 40 per cent. "And this while every highway authority in the country was crying for money to repair and preserve its sadly starved roads." said the statement, "The reason given for this was mainly delay in starting schemes.'" The Minister of Transport's statement that the need for completing preparatory work would mean that expenditure during the first two years would be re,Ia lively small, called for investigation and explanation. It conflicted with official statements made frequently during the past five years that although conditions compelled the restriction of expenditure, highway departments were engaged on the completion of preliminaries so that immediately funds became available, a start could be made The Association stated that a minimum additional expenditure of £20m. annually for. at least five years was needed.