Suffolk and Norfolk residents and commuters could benefit from better, more reliable and safer journeys 18 months earlier than expected, after the planned start date for dualling of the A11 was brought forward to 2010 by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Following discussions with local MPs, councils and the Regional Assembly, Mr Hoon has confirmed crucial improvement work to the A11 between Fiveways and Thetford can be brought forward from 2012/13, subject to consideration of any objections to the scheme and the outcome of statutory processes. This would enable this important scheme to open to traffic in early 2013, 18 months ahead of the previous timetable.
Geoff Hoon said:
"The Government is committed to bringing forward infrastructure investment wherever possible, so I am pleased to confirm that today I have asked the Highways Agency to work towards delivering this much needed scheme to dual the last single carriageway stretch of the A11 at the earliest opportunity - subject to the outcome of statutory planning and order making processes.
"The region has confirmed improvement work to this heavily used road which connects the East of England with London and the Midlands via the motorway network is a top priority which will bring increased capacity, improved journey times and safety, and provide a big boost to the region's economy.
"Bringing start of works forward to Autumn 2010 would mean road users would benefit from the improvements around 18 months earlier than originally planned. It will also provide better value for money, costing around £8 million less than it would to start work in 2012/13. This scheme confirms the Government's commitment to delivering transport improvements to the East of England."
Barbara Follett, Regional Minister for the East of England, said:
"Today's announcement of a planned earlier start on an upgrade to the A11 is great news for the East of England and will boost the economy during these difficult times.
"This is the Government's commitment to support key infrastructure projects despite the downturn in the economy in action and is, I believe, the result of effective partnership working locally, regionally and nationally.
"As Chair of the East of England Regional Economic Forum I will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that we can help support the region's economy."
Roger Hawkins, project manager for the Highways Agency, said:
"Completing the dualling of the A11 between the M11 and Norwich will significantly contribute to improving journey time reliability and ease congestion. The scheme includes a bypass that will take traffic away from Elveden, bringing substantial benefits to the village which has Conservation Area status."
Draft Orders for the scheme will be published shortly by the Highways Agency.
Depending on the nature and weight of any objections to the proposals, a Public Inquiry may be held.
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Flights operated by the nation's largest airlines arrived on time at a higher rate this past September than in either September of last year or in August 2008, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 84.9 percent in September, higher than both September 2007's 81.7 percent and August 2008's 78.4 percent.
The monthly report also includes data on flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays, as well as information on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers, airline bumping and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In September, the carriers canceled 1.8 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, a higher rate than both the 1.1 percent cancellation rate of September 2008 and the 1.6 percent rate posted in August 2008.
Causes of Flight Delays
In September, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 5.10 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 6.68 percent in August; 3.62 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 6.32 percent in August; 4.02 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 5.82 percent in August; 0.40 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.82 percent in August; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.04 percent in August. Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT's Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.
Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays. In September, 37.07 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 8.52 percent from September 2007, when 34.16 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 5.82 percent from August when 39.36 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.
Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.
Mishandled Baggage
The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.86 reports per 1,000 passengers in September, an improvement over both September 2007's rate of 5.36 and August 2008's 4.98 rate. For the first nine months of this year, the carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 5.41 per 1,000 passengers, down from the 7.26 rate posted during January-September 2007.
Bumping
The report also includes reports of involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, for the third quarter and first nine months of this year from U.S. carriers who also report flight delay information. These carriers posted a bumping rate of 1.03 per 10,000 passengers for the quarter, up from the 0.99 rate for the third quarter of 2007. For the first nine months of this year, the carriers had a bumping rate of 1.11 per 10,000 passengers, down from the rate of 1.22 rate posted during the first nine months of 2007.
Incidents Involving Pets
In September, carriers reported no incidents involving pets while traveling by air, down from four incidents in August.
Complaints About Airline Service
In September, the Department received 684 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 23.8 percent from the 898 complaints filed in September 2007 and 32.0 percent fewer than the total of 1,006 received in August 2008. For the first nine months of this year the Department received 8,786 complaints, 15.7 percent fewer than the 10,420 complaints filed during January-September 2007.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in September against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 40 disability-related complaints in September, down 18.4 percent from the 49 filed in September 2007 and 2.4 percent fewer than the 41 complaints received in August 2008. For the first nine months of this year the Department received 372 disability-related complaints, up one-half of one percent from the 370 disability complaints filed during January-September 2007.
Complaints About Discrimination
In September, the Department received 10 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex – the same number recorded in September 2007 and down from the total of 17 received in August 2008. For the first nine months of this year the Department received 91 discrimination complaints, up 9.6 percent from the total of 83 filed during January-September 2007.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.
Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline's reservation number or their travel agent. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents.
The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT's World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word format.