Star comment: Stop spin and start the work
There are times when Highways England seems better at generating hot air than it is at fixing roads.
In an age of spin, the Government organisation puts more revolutions on its public pronouncements than Shane Warne, Graeme Swann and Moeen Ali combined.
There are times when it is challenging to divine the truth from the PR, the fact from the fabrication.
Motorists in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin don't need long memories to recall the extraordinary length of time that it took to fix the M54 and A5.
Four separate road schemes ran, pretty much one-after-the-other, with seemingly little co-ordination or forethought that some could have been run synchronously.
There were frequent delays, adding endless time to journeys. And when local officials sought to speed things up, they got nowhere fast. Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski found himself on the end of endless delays from the department when he sought speedier action.
Highways England seems to be treating motorists as fools once more with a package of 'new' road improvements. The word 'new' is used advisedly, of course, because many have previously been announced.
To reprise, £1.8 billion worth of motorway improvements will include 10 projects designed to improve journeys through the West Midlands. The first of those, the construction of an M54/M6 Toll link road, was actually announced back in 2003. It was formally approved 10 years later.
Other improvements will have a knock-on effect for local motorists, particularly those who enter the M54 from the M6 northbound and endure torrid rush-hour and weekend delays around Junction 10, at Walsall.
It is curious that Highways England should trumpet schemes that have already been publicised. Rather than basking in its own glory it ought to get on with detailed planning and work out which of the options is right for the M54/M6 link. A proper timescale should be published, too.
The new link will be good for the Shropshire economy and save motorists substantial time. It is long overdue. Highways England also ought to look at the possibility of extending motorway status all the way to Shrewsbury by lengthening the M54.
Motorists will welcome the developments, but now is the time to stop the spin and get on with the work.
