Chancellor sees road workers in action

Chancellor George Osborne paid a night-time visit to meet Lafarge Tarmac workers on the M6.

The nocturnal meeting at junction 7 of the motorway was specially organised by Government officials, keen to highlight the unsung heroes who are helping to drive the UK’s economic growth.

The visit to meet workers at Solihull-based Lafarge Tarmac was timed to coincide with the UK’s latest GDP figures which revealed that the economy is growing by 0.6 per cent.

Paul Fleetham, managing director of Lafarge Tarmac Contracting, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Chancellor to our site to show him first hand the quality and commitment of our people who work around the clock to maintain and improve our highways. Roads underpin the UK’s economy and play a vital role in its recovery, so it is very appropriate that the Chancellor chose to pay a visit to see our teams in action.”

Working on behalf of the Highways Agency, Lafarge Tarmac is currently helping to make the M6 become a ‘managed motorway’ between junctions 5 and 8.  The project aims to help ease congestion by fitting new overhead gantry technology and ensuring that drivers can use the hard shoulder at peak times.

One in three roads in the UK contains Lafarge Tarmac products, and the company’s contracting division is the country’s largest highways contracting provider, working with local authorities and network operators to deliver and maintain Britain’s road infrastructure.