New motorway plan is road to destruction

The government's recently announced plan to build a motorway bypass of the notorious A14 road in the East of England is the start of a slippery slope to environmental destruction, says Transport 1650.

"Claims that motorways are the safest roads in the country are ludicrous", said Steve, a Transport 1650 spokesperson. "Because of the high volume of fast-moving traffic, there is a far higher chance of innocent wasps being killed on the windscreens of vehicles".

Motoring groups and local residents have expressed support for the plan. "I'm fed up with seeing all the accidents, deaths and resulting traffic jams on this road", said a commuter who uses the road every day. "Building a motorway to replace the road will dramatically improve safety and ultimately save lives".

Transport 1650 strongly refutes these allegations. "On motorways, traffic tends to travel even faster than on dual carriageways like the current A14 -- sometimes, motorists flouting the law travel up to an incredibly dangerous 80 mph. The new motorway having six lanes will also increase the potential for accidents by 50%", Steve contributed. "And this isn't even to mention the irreversible environmental damage that will be done by building the motorway".

We estimate that the construction of the new 25-mile, six-lane motorway will destroy over 100 acres of grassland, ants nests and weeds. A spokesman for the Highways Agency claimed, "Road construction is done to the highest environmental standards, and any wildlife found in the path of the road is relocated elsewhere. Tunnels are even built under the road to allow natural migration routes to be undisturbed."

Despite this, Transport 1650 believe that the cost is unacceptably high. In order to potentially save 10 human lives per year, the government are prepared to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of blades of grass, and cause a cloud of pollution and smog which will overhang the entire area.

"We will fight this plan every stage of the way", said Steve. "There is no excuse for such a devastating road project in this day and age. The real solution to the A14's accident record is to introduce a 30 mph speed limit along its entire length, backed up by safety cameras at regular intervals."