Lorry operators support call for road building

The Freight Transport Association says that it strongly supports the call from the RAC Foundation for increased road building. FTA, which represents companies operating over 220,000 goods vehicles – around half the national fleet – says that congestion on the country’s major trade routes is costing industry millions of man hours and billions of pounds every year. It is damaging to the economy, the environment and the consumer.

FTA’s Director of External Affairs, Geoff Dossetter said, ‘Road building in the UK has failed to keep pace with the growth of the economy and the growth in car ownership, and congestion will become more costly and more polluting if we do not act to provide increased roads capacity sooner rather than later.

‘It is pointless to bury our heads in the sand and to hope that congestion will stabilise or reduce without positive action to provide increased capacity. It will not, and the result will be more emissions, more waste of time, more waste of money and useless gridlock.

‘In the twenty-first century people expect to be able to move around and consumers expect to have goods and services locally available all over the country. We need a roads network fit for the purpose of supplying those needs.

‘Far from being environmentally damaging, new roads would result in more efficient and greener transport movements. To deny that is idealistic and naïve.’