Spending Review: M62 congestion plan 'to go ahead'

The plan was drawn up to reduce congestion on the motorway at peak times

A £150m scheme to cut congestion by allowing traffic on the hard shoulder of the M62 in West Yorkshire will go ahead, the chancellor has said.

George Osborne said the scheme would not be a victim of the public spending cuts to be announced next week.

Construction work between junction 25 for Brighouse and junction 30 for Rothwell was delayed in July while the government completed its review.

Mr Osborne also pledged support for a new entrance at Leeds railway station.

The £14m southern entrance at Granary Wharf will allow passengers to access the station from both sides of the River Aire.

Mr Osborne said the two investments would cut congestion and lead to shorter journey times in the county.

Metro, West Yorkshire's passenger transport authority, said the approval of the M62 scheme was "good news for cross-Pennine motorists".

Councillor Chris Greaves, the authority's chairman, said the new station entrance would "help boost economic recovery and growth by making the developing area to the south of the station more accessible to the 20,000 or more passengers using the station who head to Granary Wharf and the south of the city centre".

Mr Greaves said he was concerned that Mr Osborne had not mentioned Leeds's planned trolleybus scheme, which he said was "crucial" to the city.

He said: "We have worked hard to bring down the cost of the project to under £200m, which compared to the £5bn the government is preparing to invest in the London Crossrail project, is minimal."