Commenting on the detail of a £15bn package of road investment announced ahead of Wednesday's Autumn Statement, Simon Dixon, transport partner, said:
"The funding outlined will help to provide security and confidence among those looking to invest in the UK road network. The extra investment and long-term certainty of funding will also enable the Highways Agency to put together cost-effective programmes, which drive down costs.
"As the Highways Agency is turned into a Government-owned company (GovCo), and with increasing pressure on the network and limited funding, a wider debate about the role of road charging in adding to government funding will be needed. As a GovCo, the Highways Agency will effectively become a regulated utility, much like Network Rail, the water and utility companies, but it will be the only one that does not charge its customers. At the moment the only source of funding for road building is what the government provides, whereas other regulated utilities generate income from their customers."
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