THE Government found itself under pressure to deliver yesterday after promising a £263m improvement package for the A1 through North Yorkshire.

The project is among those announced by the Department of Transport in an attempt to cut congestion and improve road safety.

Although it welcomed the principles of the plan, the Automobile Association (AA) wanted to see work under way before the provisional start date given by Transport Minister John Spellar at a briefing in Leeds, yesterday.

AA spokeswoman Denise Raven said: "The improvements are long overdue but still vitally important, both economically and in terms of road safety. However, we cannot understand why the Government says it will be another four years before work begins.

"Public consultation was held and draft orders published before A1 improvements were shelved in 1995. All that should remain is a public inquiry and that should not take four years. We will be pushing as hard as we can for a speedier start."

Vale of York Tory MP Anne McIntosh was also disappointed with the start date.

"Overall, the announcement is welcome, but I had hoped something would happen before 2006," she said.

"Of course, we will have to be very careful that a new road does not affect the safety or the quality of life of people who live nearby but, hopefully, a well-planned route will mean fewer accidents."

Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, also urged the Government to heed the lessons learned from the past.

"When improvements on the A1 in North Yorkshire were scrapped in 1995, it typified Britain's approach on its roads. Successive governments have been incapable of coming up with a 50-year vision and that is what we so desperately need.

"Let us hope this Government has learned from that and will give us a coherent policy which takes in all the issues."

Geoff Dunning, Northern director of the Road Haulage Association, said: "This is excellent news. Frankly, I was appalled when improvements on this stretch of road were scrapped in the mid-1990s.

"However, the transport system in this country is still a mess and, to be honest, anyone who thinks they can improve things just by tinkering with the roads is kidding themselves.

"This is definitely a step in the right direction. The A1 is 50 years behind the times and something is needed to be done - but we must not lose sight of the big picture."