Hopes of widening the notorious A303 between London and the South West have been raised after the Government's Budget commitment of an extra £3 billion a year to big building projects from 2015.
Treasury Minister Greg Clark told the Western Morning News ministers would reveal in June's spending review which proposals to build roads, power stations and other major infrastructure schemes would get state backing in two years' time. He said the Chancellor's announcement was "signalling now" cash would be available, allowing regions to get their proposals in order.
The Government has already fast-tracked money for its "top 40" infrastructure schemes to fuel jobs, including dualling the A30 at Bodmin Moor in Cornwall and the South Devon link road bypassing Kingskerswell.
The new Hinkley Point nuclear power station near Bridgwater, Somerset, is also among its top priorities, though state cash is not available.
Business leaders in the region are pushing the A303 as one of the top second-tier projects, arguing it could unlock long-term economic growth across the peninsula and generate immediate construction jobs.
Mr Clark told regional newspaper journalists in Westminster that ministers would in the coming months decide whether proposals will be funded nationally, or compete for cash from a regional pot of money established following Michael Heseltine's review of boosting jobs outside London.
Creating a dual carriageway from the M3 in Hampshire to the M5 in Devon would cost £2 billion, estimates have suggested. But upgrading certain sections – a proposed tunnel under Stonehenge, a notorious traffic blackspot, is one eye-catching idea – would be much cheaper.
Mr Clark said: "What we will do at the spending review is decide which are national infrastructure projects and what are for single pot (regional) 'deals'.
"Whichever it is, my experience of every local area in the country is that there are proposals at some stage of development in terms of aspiration – some are further down the road – which don't have funding attached to them. Clearly there are now more chances of them being funded, whether it comes through national spending or growth 'deals'."
The A303 is near the top of the list, some believe, as Department for Transport officials have been tasked with helping to draw up the business case to improve the alternative highway to the South West from the M5.WESTERN GAZETTE A303 DUAL IT! CAMPAIGN - INTERACTIVE MAP
Our interactive map shows details of crashes dealt with by emergency services on the Somerset stretch of the A303 between 2006 and 2011. Data is from the Department of Transport.
Find your way around our interactive map using the navigation controls (top left of the map) or your mouse to scroll, or zoom in or out.
Click on the individual pins for details of each crash including date, time, conditions, number of vehicles involved and severity of injuries.
Red pins mark fatal collisions, yellow pins show collisions involving serious injury and blue pins show collisions with slight injury.PRINT OUT OR DOWNLOAD YOUR A303 DUAL IT! PETITION
Click here to open our A303 Dual It! petition form. You can then save it to your computer, or print it out. Alternatively, fill in our online form below.
