Warning: delays ahead as new roads are axed

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said that a huge overspend by the Highways Agency meant some projects would not go ahead.

The announcement leaves motorists facing congestion on busy roads, while a number of vital bypasses - many of them years in the planning - may not be built.

The Conservatives said it would mean "more gridlock and more delays" for commuters. Ms Kelly said she was now assessing on a "road by road" basis which roads would be built. She warned that she was going to have to make some "tough choices".

"Over the next couple of months I will be taking a firm view of what roads are being prioritised," she told the commons transport select committee.

"It's absolutely the case there are tough choices to be made. We will have to look right across the roads programme to see what is desirable. What we need to do is have a rigorous look at the figures and be clear about what we can afford and what we cannot afford and make a decision based on that basis," she said.

"I hope to be in a position in the next few months to make a definitive statement about where we are on cost and which roads we are committed to seeing delivered," she told the MPs.

Her comments throw into doubt a number of major schemes in London and the South-East, including possible widening of the M25.

But Ms Kelly stressed any cutbacks would be to road building and would not affect road maintenance.

The decision follows problems at the Highways Agency which have seen a series of price estimates hit by serious "cost inflation".

Nationally, the Highways Agency is facing a cost overrun of more than £500 million, with some schemes 200 per cent over budget. In the South-East alone the agency is around £140 million over budget.

Among the schemes hit by soaring costs are the A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst bypass in Kent which has gone from £40 million to £103 million. The A21 Tonbridge to Pembury went from £64 million to £112 million.

Other threatened projects are the M25 widening between junctions five and seven and junctions 23 and 27 and the widening of the M1 between junctions 27 and 32.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "Why has it taken this incompetent Government until now to work out that their method of funding our roads is fundamentally flawed?

"The future looks grim for Britain's beleaguered commuters. Labour's record on roads is dreadful, travellers deserve a lot better."