Roads and Highways

Infrastructure spending has very high returns and it's very worthwhile for governments to invest in. It is therefore not surprising that in a time of economic downturn roads and Infrastructure investment is taking high priority on global political agendas. The largest chunk of the 2009 stimulus fund which was dedicated to infrastructure went to transportation projects. The remaining finance was targeted in descending amounts to building, energy and technology. Within the Transportation sector Road and Highways is one such area that is seeing enhanced focus and ever increasing investment. The world of highways is more than just building roads - it ranges from maintenance and small improvements to the erection of gantries and refurbishing tunnels.

On a global scale it is evident that this sector is a huge area of focus. In India, the Minister of Transport, Roads and Highways announced earlier this year that the Indian Government is going to spend about US$44 billion over the next two years, $22 billion in 2009 and $22 billion in 2010, on roads and other critical infrastructure projects, with the goal of building 20 kilometers of road per day each fiscal year.

America's highway transportation system is also facing growing congestion and an ageing infrastructure, the 2009 capital spending on highways is $70.3bn, much below the estimated $186bn needed annually to substantially improve America's highways. It is estimated that over the next 5 years America will need to invest $930bn into its highways and bridges, the estimated current spending is $380.5bn, a projected shortfall of $549.5bn. The transportation sector has been a key area of focus for President Obama is his stimulus plan.

The UK is also investing billions into the nation's roads and highways. The UK population see's roads and highways as the number one priority for investment within transportation infrastructure. This will not come as a surprise to many considering that the maintenance backlog earlier in 2009 was estimated to £1bn. The highways agency has a budget of just over £1bn to spend on major improvements to the road network during 2009-2010. It is also estimated that approximately £2bn will be spent in the UK over the next four years in order to finance hard shoulder projects; this £2bn includes the associated improvements to junctions and adjacent trunk roads. It also includes the construction of gantries, modifications to existing structures and the installation of communications infrastructure and associated equipment. The Highways Agency also has £2 billion a year to spend on motorways and trunk roads; Geoff Hoon has outlined plans to spend £6bn on increasing the capacity of the UK's trunk road network.

It is evident from the above statistics and examples that Transportation as a whole is a key area of stimulus for economies across the world. Within global transportation planning, Roads and Highways consistently feature as one of the top priorities. Inevitably the current economic situation has prompted proposed investment to be called into question, however, despite this global crisis the roads and highways sector is still proving to be a consistent area of growth.