WE'RE in the middle of the second of the trio of five-year Roads Investment Strategy plans - RIS1, 2 and 3 - which were announced in 2014. About ￡17bn was spent as part of RIS1 from 2015 to 2020, with ￡27bn allocated for RIS2 from 2020 to 2025, yet almost a year ago, National Highways (NH) admitted delivery of the 69 schemes planned for RIS2 was impossible. It cut the number of RIS2 projects to 58, while the DfT reduced the budget by ￡3.4bn. The National Audit Office (NAO) says costs for the surviving projects have risen by ￡3.6bn, and it has been critical of NH planning and budgeting.
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