Osborne commits extra £1 billion for roads and a Tube line extension

An extra £1 billion for roads and a Tube line extension were among transport measures announced today by Chancellor George Osborne.

But he added that an announcement about the northern extension to the London to Birmingham HS2 high-speed rail scheme, that had been expected before Christmas, would now be made in the new year.

The road schemes include a £378 million upgrade of a section of the A1 in north east England to motorway standard and improvements to the A30 in Cornwall.

The Tube line extension involves a £1 billion loan from the Government to Transport for London to fund an extension of the Northern line to Battersea Power Station in south London.

The extension will assist London Mayor Boris Johnson's plans to create 16,000 new home and 25,000 jobs in the Battersea area.

In an £157 million worth of improvements, there will be a new link between the A5 and the M1 in eastern England and a dualling of the of A30 Temple to Higher Carblake in Cornwall.

Also, £150 million will go on improvement work at the M25's junction 30 at Thurrock in Essex starting in 2015, while £10 million will be spent on improvements at junction 12 of the M40 in the West Midlands, starting next year.

The Chancellor also announced £270 for national and local projects to remove bottlenecks and support development, and an additional £333 million for road maintenance.

AA president Edmund King said: "We welcome the extra money for road schemes and in particular a commitment to upgrade the A1 which will boost the economy of the North East and improve safety."

Mr Johnson said he was "delighted" at the Battersea Tube extension news, adding that it would be "an incredible confidence boost for developers preparing to invest there".

PA