Evening Post. MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1938. ROADS AND DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 143, 20 June 1938, Page 8

Evening Post. MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1938. ROADS AND DEFENCE

For the first time Britain's road system becomes directly allied with the plans for national defence through what was described by the Minister of Transport (Dr. Leslie Burgin) as a "small section" under the departmental vote, dealing with the home defence plans as they would affect transport. The formation of this special section in the Ministry, he said, reflected the important part which transport played in home defence. Invasions of Britain in the past have been so rare that military considerations have had little or no influence on the building up of British roads. In the main, the system, if it can be called a system, is the result of a natural growth of roads from original tracks joining the different communities, much as roads first grew into being in New Zealand on the lines followed by the early pioneers. It was not until the rise of industrialism about a hundred and fifty years ago that true highroads began to be made under the impulse of trade necessities guided by the genius of the great British roadmakers Metcalf, Telford, and Macadam. Of true military roads, apart from the surviving lengths of the causeways built by the Romans for the movement of their legions, almost the only examples were those constructed by General Wade for the settlement of the Scottish Highlands. The advent of the railway further checked the development of roads in Britain, and it is only since the War that a new era of construction has opened out, and that not for defence purposes, but to accommodate the enormous increase in motor traffic.

On the Continent of Europe military .considerations have always exercised a determining influence on highway systems. France has had her "routes nationales" directly designed for the transport of troops and munitions for more than a century. The mechanisation of armies has immensely enhanced the importance of roads, and one of the first tasks undertaken by the Nazi regime in Germany was the building of superb concrete "autobahnen" or "motorways" on a scale never before seen and capable of swift transport beyond the range of railways or any other form of locomotion. The new roads cross Germany in every direction so as to facilitate the movement of armies to whatever spot the 1 exigencies of the moment may indicate. Berlin itself is to be cut north and south and east and west by two wide thoroughfares, making for the easy transfer of large populations. This work has just been inaugurated by the Fuhrer, Herr Hitler, and will cost a tremendous sum of money, an expenditure justified almost wholly on military grounds. On a minor scale similar works have been undertaken in Italy, including the cutting of new thoroughfares in Rome.

Road reconstruction in Britain has already advanced a certain stage, but the gigantic scale of the whole scheme is indicated by the figures quoted by Dr. Burgin, who estimates the cost of the whole programme at somewhere between £160,000,000 and £230,000,000. This includes apparently a scheme for the improvement of London's communications, though the cable message is not quite clear on the point. The Minister expressed the hope that all the local authorities concerned would do all they could to make their own development plans conform as nearly as possible to the lines laid down in the report, and proceed as quickly as possible with the more urgent of the schemes. In dealing with the five-year programme of trunk roads, Dr. Burgin said that schemes had been submitted of an estimated total cost of over £129,000,000, of which works up to £93,500,000 had'been approved up to date. The figures seem almost astronomical, but apparently the intention is to carry out the works with urgency. One of the reasons was given by the Minister in the following passage of his speech:

Among important matters Under consideration, he said, were those which would arise should it ever be necessary to divert shipping from the east to the west coast or to distribute imports from the west coast. Apart from these, rail, road, and other inland transport services would have to be adapted to meet abnormal conditions in time of emergency.

While considerations of national defence seem to be paramount in the plan, the improvement in communications should be of great value to commerce, and should, moreover, relieve Britain's already overcrowded thoroughfares. It has been shown that accidents on these new divided roads in Germany are far below the normal rate on the older types of highway. The first steps in the present scheme were taken last year, when Dr. Burgin's predecessor in office, Mr. Hore-Belisha, announced the transfer to the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Transport of 4500 miles of trunk roads, one- 1 sixth of the entire milage of Britain's first-grade highways. The then Minister declared that the Ministry proposed to survey all the main thoroughfares and to begin the task of making them patterns universally to be followed. Among the main specifications of the new roads were a minimum visibility between approaching vehicles on bends or on hills of 500 feet, curves with a minimum radius of 1000 feet, and dual carriageways, cycle tracks, and, in suitable cases, grass tracks for

horses. The construction of such roads will inevitably mean a transformation of the countryside through which they run. The evil of "ribbon-

development," that is building lip along such roads and therefore endangering their use, has already been met by special legislation. On the other hand, it will be a new England that such sweeping changcs envisage. For this reason cflorts are being made to limit the range of the effect and to preserve the beauty of rural England, which has always exercised a fascination for visitors, especially from overseas. As this movement to retain the aesthetic charm of the countryside commands wide support, there is ground for hope that it will be successful.