THE Labour Government is poised to introduce a revised road-building programme which will put environmental considerations and traffic congestion ahead of public spending expedience. Labour transport chiefs are currently engaged in a wholesale review of the current programme after the previous Government's freeze on new roads spending.

Schemes already approved by the Highways Agency will still be honoured, but other plans in the pipeline will come in for extensive scrutiny and some may face the axe.

The Tories' massive cuts to the roads budget in 1995 will also come under the microscope and where rising traffic demand dictates and environmental considerations are not compromised, some could be resurrected.

Answering a parliamentary question last week, transport minister Gavin Strang said the £1.49 billion allocated to the roads programme for 1997-98 would be subject to a far-reaching review.