Lifting 300 miles of roadworks will help deliver Easter

Tuesday 27 March 2018

The Easter Bank Holiday weekend is one of the UK’s first big travel times of the year, with holiday traffic added to the usual number of vehicles on the nation’s roads.  And the removal of 300 miles of roadworks by Highways England in the run-up to the weekend will help ease congestion and enable the logistics industry to carry on making essential journeys – as well as delivering all those chocolate eggs and other Easter treats – says the Freight Transport Association. 

The announcement by Highways England states that 99 per cent of England’s motorways and major A roads will be roadworks-free in time for the Easter holiday weekend.

FTA’s Head of Road Network Management Policy, Malcolm Bingham, welcomed the news, saying: “We know from previous experience that there will be a significant amount of extra traffic on the roads over the Bank Holiday weekend, and lifting such a significant number of roadworks is good news for everyone.  Interruptions to the network raise the cost of moving goods to shops and supermarkets, and providing services to Easter events.  Indeed, it costs £1 for every minute that a 44 tonne truck is stuck in a queue of traffic.” 

But the move by Highways England won’t help ease all the delays over the Easter weekend – and FTA says keeping routes free-running all year round is vital to the UK’s logistics industry.  The Association is advising fleet operators to be prepared for hold-ups and congestion and to plan their journeys accordingly.

Malcolm Bingham continued: “The importance of logistics to the supply chain cannot be underestimated.  Easter eggs, hot cross buns, flowers, gifts – all the Easter essentials reach us thanks to logistics.  Without it, the shops would be empty, our cupboards would be bare and the Easter bunny would be out of a job!”

The FTA website has a dedicated section for all traffic alerts.
 

FTA Press Office

01892 552255
press.office@fta.co.uk