LETTERS
I read with interest the letter written by Jack Shelbourne, the county surveyor of Staffordshire, regarding the upgrading of the A500 Potteries D Road (NCE 18/25 August). I agree entirely with what he has said, and as the director of Tarmac Construction at that time I also agree that it was a very poor decision to redesign the road to a much lower standard for the meagre saving of £2M.
Most ansportation professionals in respect of rail and road would, I think, agree that the parsimonious attitude of the Department of Transport to infrastructure spending over the past 50 years will cost us dearly in the future.
It is obvious that rail maintenance after the war was neglected at the expense of safety and lost lives.
The proposal made by highway professionals that 4,800km of motorway would provide an adequate network has been ignored and the fact that it has taken some 50 years to provide about two thirds of this is disgraceful.
Even now, the West Midlands conurbation only has three quarters of a motorway box and to think that the traffi c problems on the M6 north of Junction 11a can be resolved by adding a fourth lane to the existing overloaded section is ludicrous.
LJ Cox (F), director, Tarmac National Construction 1963-1982, 10 The Parklands, Finchfield Hill, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV3 9DG
You might also like...
New Civil Engineer crowns Graduate and Apprentice of the Year
The rising stars in the industry have been crowned at New Civil Engineer ’s Graduate and Apprentice Awards 2018.
Contractor sought for £79M Ireland interchange
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is seeking to procure a civil engineering construction contractor to design and construct the $88.5M (£79M) Dunkettle Interchange upgrade, in county Cork.
Siemens wins contract for largest offshore wind connection
Siemens has been contracted to construct three offshore transformer modules and a new onshore substation to connect the 950MW Moray East windfarm in Scotland to the national grid.
Three Bristol transport hubs up for consultation
A trio of transport hub proposals have been put out for public consultation in Bristol.
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment
Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Please note comments made online may also be published in the print edition of New Civil Engineer. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted.