Most Needed Roads - Open Road

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Most Needed Roads

We've made a list of the UK's Most Needed Road Schemes, which is now sorted by popular demand. All these improvements are very necessary and overdue, but with limited funding available we are calling for the top schemes to be done first:

A14 [Votes: 12; Vote for this]
The A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge is one of the most dangerous stretches of dual carriageway in the country. It has several junctions and private accesses, and the volume of traffic using it far exceeds what it was designed for.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the A14 to be upgraded to a dual 3-lane motorway from its junction with the A1 to its junction with the M11.
What's happening: The government has agreed to upgrade this section, but only to 3-lane all-purpose standard. It has also been repeatedly delayed. We say, that's not good enough.
A27 [Votes: 8; Vote for this]
This important south coast route takes over from the M27 at Portsmouth, and ends at Eastbourne. It varies considerably and has stretches of both high quality dual carriageway and low standard single carriageway. As a result, the single carriageway sections are congested and dangerous.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the whole route between Portsmouth and Eastbourne to be upgraded to a consistent dual carriageway standard.
What's happening: The government has cancelled pending upgrades, because the road is in an environmentally sensitive area. We say, modern roads incorporate very good landscaping measures, and a dual carriageway would not have a significantly higher impact than the current road.
A66 [Votes: 6; Vote for this]
The A66 is a strategic cross-country route that consists of several single carriageway sections. It runs between the A1 at Scotch Corner and the M6 at Penrith. The single carriageway parts have bad accident records and can be congested.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the whole route to be upgraded to dual carriageway.
What's happening: The government has agreed that the upgrades are necessary, but are not forthcoming with any funding; therefore the project is on hold.
A556(M) [Votes: 5; Vote for this]
The A556 route linking the M6 and M56 near Manchester is a very dangerous and congested section of road. It runs past houses and other properties, and for much of its length is 4 lanes wide with no central reservation to separate oncoming traffic. It is the main route from the south into Manchester and as such carries a heavy volume of traffic.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for it to be replaced by a dual 2-lane motorway. It's only 4 miles long, and wouldn't be very expensive to do!
What's happening: The government has refused to upgrade the route to motorway, and instead is planning piecemeal upgrades with various junction modifications and minor widening. We say, this half-hearted approach will lead to accidents, injuries and deaths.
A1 [Votes: 5; Vote for this]
The A1 between London and Newcastle is a mixture of motorway and standard dual carriageway, including several roundabouts. The northern section between the M1 and Newcastle is particularly congested. The Bedfordshire section is a substandard road cutting straight through the towns of Sandy and Beeston, as well as having several sharp turns and speed limits. The A1 between Newcastle and Edinburgh is mostly single carriageway, and has an appalling accident record.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the A1 to be upgraded to dual 3-lane motorway between the M25 and Newcastle, and to 2-lane dual carriageway between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
What's happening: The government has agreed to upgrade the section between Leeds and Scotch Corner and some is already under construction. However, the date for the rest has been pushed back; and there are no plans to upgrade the sections south of Doncaster. We say, this whole route is long overdue an upgrade!
A303 [Votes: 4; Vote for this]
The A303/A30 runs between the M3 and M5, providing a strategic connection from South London to the South West. However, it currently consists of a mixture of dual and single carriageway sections; and the single carriageway parts are dangerous and congested.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the whole route to be upgraded to dual carriageway.
What's happening: The government initially agreed that the upgrades were necessary, but the most important first stage of a Stonehenge Tunnel has now been cancelled as it was too expensive. We say, the Stones and the local residents of Winterbourne Stoke deserve a break!
A417 [Votes: 4; Vote for this]
The A417 is an important route that, in combination with the A419, connects the M4 at Swindon to the M5 at Gloucester. It is all dual carriageway, except for a short 4-mile section of single carriageway near the village of Birdlip. This causes significant congestion and accidents.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for this section to be upgraded to dual carriageway.
What's happening: A study on this stretch of road reported back in 2003 recommending that the gap was dualled. The government has not made any funding available to construct the improvement until at least 2016.
M8 [Votes: 4; Vote for this]
The M8 motorway connects Glasgow and Edinburgh, but is interrupted by a 6-mile stretch of dual carriageway on the approach to Glasgow. This section gives the route an inconsistent standard, and is regularly congested.
What it needs: Open Road is calling for the dual carriageway stretch to be upgraded to motorway standard.
What's happening: The Scottish Parliament is planning to do this, with the start currently scheduled for 2009/10.
A64 [Votes: 4; Vote for this]
The A64 between York and Scarborough is a busy holiday route, but is almost entirely single carriageway. In the summer months and at other peak times it gets extremely congested, and has a poor accident record.
What it needs: Open Road is calling for the A64 to be upgraded to dual carriageway standard between York and Scarborough.
What's happening: The government intially proposed a single carriageway bypass for Rillington, then cancelled it. There are no current plans to upgrade any of the route. We say, that's not good enough!
M4 Newport [Votes: 3; Vote for this]
The Newport section of the M4 motorway is badly congested on a daily basis, caused in part by a dual 2-lane section where the motorway tunnels under Brynglas. The M4 in the region has a large number of junctions which lead to it being a heavy commuter road, rather than the long distance route that motorways are supposed to be.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for the proposed M4 Relief Road to be built. This would take a new motorway around the south of Newport acting as a bypass for the current route.
What's happening: The Welsh Assembly has agreed to build the road, but as a Tolled motorway. We say, the motorist already pays petrol tax and Severn Bridge tolls, so this would be a triple whammy!
M6 [Votes: 3; Vote for this]
The M6 between Birmingham and Manchester is extremely congested day in, day out and has a poor accident record. It is currently only 3 lanes from the M5 junction in Birmingham all the way up to Manchester. The M6 Toll has only made the problems worse.
What it needs: Open Road is campaigning for a new motorway route to be built to carry traffic between Birmingham and Manchester.
What's happening: The government originally agreed to widen this stretch to 4 lanes each way, but has now put it on hold pending a consideration of Active Traffic Management.

Finally, while this page largely just covers nationally important road schemes, there are several smaller scale bypasses needed for towns and villages that are vital to enhancing the quality of life for local residents, and Open Road backs all such schemes.

If you know of a road scheme that should be added to this page, please send us an e-mail (if you submit a suggestion, please make sure it's for a nationally important scheme, not just improvements to the phasing of your local traffic lights!)