Thursday, July 09, 2009
Work to widen M25 is started by Transport Minister
Work to widen key sections of the M25 as part of a £6.2 billion contract to improve and maintain England's busiest motorway - creating thousands of new construction jobs - was officially started yesterday (Wednesday, July 8) by Transport Minister Sadiq Khan.
The work involves widening two sections of the M25 between junctions 16 and 23 - from the M40 to the A1 (M) and junctions 27 and 30 - from the M11 to the Dartford River Crossing.
The Transport Minister witnessed early progress on widening 22 miles of the motorway between junctions 16 and 23 from three lanes to four in both directions.
Mr Khan said: "Today marks a major step forward in our commitment to 'Building Britain's Future' and increasing capacity on the busiest sections of motorways and trunk roads.
"This vital scheme will tackle the nuisance of congestion, improve journey time reliability and safety and help boost the productivity of our businesses. Everyone who uses these important stretches of motorway, whether business or leisure travellers, will benefit from the massive investment.
"It is also a huge boost to the economy - the construction schemes will employ between 3,500 and 4,000 people until 2012 in addition to around 850 people employed on the 30-year operations and maintenance work."
Work to widen the second section - 16 miles of the M25 between the M11 and the Dartford River Crossing - will begin this month. Both sections are due to be completed before the Olympics in 2012.
Up to 200,000 vehicles a day use the sections of the M25 that will be widened. The Highways Agency says that work will be phased to reduce the impact on road users and keep as many lanes open as possible.
DATED: 09.07.09
FEED: AW
