The limited effect on industrial growth of the trunk road system

The Leitch Report on Truck Road Assessment was published early in the New Year. It covers a range of topics: traffic forecasting, the overall frame‐work for scheme assessment, cost benefit analysis, the Regional Highway Traffic Model, and other factors. One of the most significant sections in the report relates to the effects of trunk road construction on economic growth; the widely‐held view that construction engenders economic growth is rejected — or at least that improvements in the trunk road system can have only a limited effect on industrial location and growth. Because of its serious implications for distribution, we are reproducing here in full the relevant Appendix from the Report.