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Infrastructure growth being held back by sluggish roads sector

Civil engineering contractors are claiming that a poorly-performing roads sector is acting as a brake on growth in the wider economy.

The latest Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) quarterly Workload Trends Report, shows that workloads fell in work on motorways and trunk roads by 29% and local roads by 16% compared with a year ago.

CECA head of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming said: “Today’s results show that although the infrastructure sector as a whole is performing well, nonetheless the roads sector is yet to reflect the government’s planned programme of investment.

“The roads network is integral to the UK’s economy. We must take steps to ensure investment in the sector is implemented in a timely and efficient manner, to prevent it acting as a hindrance to wider economic growth,” she said.

CECA is calling on the government to take steps to ensure planned investment in the roads sector is unlocked, so that the industry “can deliver a roads network capable of sustaining projected levels of demand.”

 

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