DoT unveils milestones

The Highways Agency has unveiled an exact programme for every road scheme to be built in England. The 'Summary of Milestones for 1994/95' document, to be issued annually, also includes a target list which publicly commits the agency to achieving set performance milestones. The agency says it intends 85% of schemes will meet the milestones.

Welcomed by the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (FCEC) and the British Roads Federation (BRF), both believe it will greatly increase the accountability of the agency as roads provider.

Said FCEC director of external affairs, Jim Turner: 'The Department of Transport's forward planning programme used to give similar information, but it was not regularly updated and not always shared with the industry. The DoT has set the agency standards it never reached itself.'

Turner added that the milestones list would be a great help to contractors' strategic planning, enabling them to apportion resources efficiently.

For 1994/95, the document lists 18 scheduled completions and the 22 new starts which were announced in Parliament earlier this year. It also lists the 55 schemes which were dropped from the roads programme in March as a result of the Roads Review, and 67 low priority schemes for which design commissions will be terminated by July.

Of greatest interest however is the publication (reproduced here) of progress targets for priority 1 and 2 schemes. Each are assigned one of four milestones to be reached this year, namely: public consultation; public inquiry; preferred route; and draft orders.


Priority 1 schemes are expected to reach the following milestones in 1994/95:

A1 WILLOWBURN - DENWICK IMPROVEMENT Public inquiry

A10 LANDBEACH BYPASS Public consultation

A10 STRETHAM BYPASS Public consultation

A13 IRONBRIDGE - CANNING TOWN IMPROVEMENT Public inquiry

A13 MOVERS LANE JUNCTION IMPROVEMENT Public inquiry

A1(M) FERRYBRIDGE - HOOK MOOR Order publication

A1(M) LEEMING - SCOTCH CORNER Order publication

A259 NEW ROMNEY BYPASS Public inquiry

A303 SPARKFORD - ILCHESTER IMPROVEMENT Public inquiry

A380 KINGSKERSWELL BYPASS Order publication

A4 HENLYS/WAGGONERS CORNER IMPROVEMENT Public consultation

A406 BOUNDS GREEN - GREEN LANES IMPROVEMENT Public inquiry

A419 BLUNSDON BYPASS Preferred route

A43 MOULTON - BROUGHTON IMPROVEMENT Order publication

A46 ALCESTER - STRATFORD IMPROVEMENT Preferred route

A45 NEWARK - WIDMERPOOL IMPROVEMENT Order publication

A570 ORMSKIRK BYPASS Preferred route

A595 PARTON - LILLYHALL IMPROVEMENT Preferred route

A6 KEGWORTH BYPASS Public consultation

A6 RUSHDEN 7 HIGHAM FERRERS BYPASS Public inquiry

A63 CASTLE STREET HULL IMPROVEMENT Order publication

A66 STAINBURY & GREAT CLIFTON BYPASS Public inquiry

M1 J10-15 WIDENING Preferred route

M1 J23A-25 WIDENING Preferred route

M1 J25-26 WIDENING Public consultation

M1 J6A-10 WIDENING Preferred route

M11 J5 NORTH FACING SLIP ROAD IMPROVEMENTS Public inquiry

M11 J8-9 WIDENING Public consultation

M20 J3-5 WIDENING Public inquiry

M23 J8-9 WIDENING Order publication

M25 J12-15 LINK ROADS Public inquiry

M4 J4B-8/9 WIDENING Preferred route

M6 J11-16 WIDENING Order publication

M6 J16-20 WIDENING Order publication

M62(E.) M606 LINK ROADS Order publication

M63 J6-9 WIDENING Order publication