''Roads for Prosperity'' (often incorrectly called Road to Prosperity)
[ was a controversial ]white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
published by the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
government in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1989; detailing the 'largest road building programme for the UK since the Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
' produced in response to rapid increases in car ownership and use over the previous decade. It embraced what Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
had described as 'the great car economy', although implementation led to widespread road protests, and many of the schemes contained within it were abandoned by 1996.
Overview
The proposals included 500 road schemes at an estimated cost of £23 BN based on predicted traffic growth of 142% by 2025.bypasses
Bypass may refer to:
* Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane)
* Flood bypass of a river
Science and technology Medicine
* Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example:
** Heart bypa ...
being built to meet the predicted demand.The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', the road network expanded by between 1985-1995 and then by only 1.6% between 1996-2006; no definition of "the road network" is provided.M25 motorway
The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
to dual 4 lanes (largely achieved by 2015)
*Widen the M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...
between the M25 and the M18 to dual 4 lanes (partially implemented much later)
*Build the new Newbury Bypass
The Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) (Newbury Bypass), is a stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms ...
(built in the face of major protests)
*Build the M11 Link Road, which became the A12 running from Hackney Wick to Wanstead and the Redbridge Roundabout in London, despite significant protests.
*Extend the M3 extension past Winchester across Twyford Down
Twyford Down is an area of chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester, Hampshire, England next to St. Catherine's Hill and close to the South Downs National Park. It has been settled since pre-Roman times, and has housed a f ...
(built in the face of major protests during the second half of the 1990s)
Impact
In 2018, the Department for Transport published ''The Road to Zero: Reducing Emissions from Road Transport''.
See also
*Roads in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a network of roads, of varied quality and capacity, totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) sy ...
*'
References
External links
*{{Google books, id=7b5RAQAAMAAJ
Transport policy in the United Kingdom
Roads in the United Kingdom