Budget 2016: Studies launched into "biggest challenges" facing England's roads

The Chancellor has announced new strategic studies into what he said were the biggest challenges facing the road network, mostly around Manchester and London and East Anglia.

The strategic studies into a possible Trans-Pennine tunnel linking Manchester and Sheffield, the Manchester north-west quadrant of the M60 and the northern Trans-Pennine routes of the A66 and A69 are launched in the wake of Lord Adonis' recommendations on northern England connectivity. The Chancellor also announced three further studies into the A1 linking the M25 to Peterborough, the Oxford to Cambridge expressway, and the M25 south-west quadrant.

The studies to be completed by the end of the year will inform the second road investment strategy spanning 2020 to 2025. Highways England will also revisit and refresh the 18 existing route strategies identifying the pressures on its entire road network, providing "a major opportunity for all stakeholders, including the public, to have their say".