Chancellor to announce £1.3bn to improve Britain's roads

Chancellor Philip Hammond will announce £1.3 billion for improving Britain's roads in the Autumn Statement, the Treasury has announced.

Wednesday's mini-Budget will include £1.1 billion to reduce congestion and upgrade transport networks, along with £220 million to tackle "pinch points" on England's motorways and major roads.

Mr Hammond will also green-light a £27 million expressway connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge - as recommended by the National Infrastructure Commission.

Mr Hammond hopes focusing on infrastructure will steady the country through the "uncertainty" of Brexit, and prepare for life outside the EU.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said: "By investing in our national infrastructure and skills we can do even better than before - we can improve our historically low levels of productivity and up our game even more.

"This Autumn Statement will be about preparing the British economy for the journey ahead, taking on the challenges we face, providing stability to business and ensuring we build an economy that works for everyone."

The spending will form part of a bigger package of billions of pounds' worth of investment in infrastructure, which will form the core of the Chancellor's first policy speech.

A Department for Transport source said: "We are building and improving roads because they are at the very heart of what makes communities work - linking people with jobs and businesses with customers.

"Our investment will benefit motorists by making their journeys safer, quicker and less congested - whilst creating thousands of jobs across the country."