MOTORISTS will be pleased plans to improve the A34 seem to be moving quicker than the traffic on it.

The latest chunk of Government cash should help to clear some of the debilitating congestion that has hampered the county’s growth and infuriated commuters and employers alike.

Nicola Blackwood should be praised for igniting the issue, driving hard to get a meeting with Chancellor George Osborne and maintaining that momentum.

But David Nimmo Smith is right in saying this money is just a stop-gap measure – more will need to be done.

Motorists will feel underwhelmed to learn some of the cash is being spent on driver information boards that will tell them what they already know, that the road is congested. Improvements to the Botley and Pear Tree interchanges are more useful.

But this funding should not take the focus away from tackling congestion in the long term. Key to that is looking at major projects to alleviate jams, such as widening both carriageways.

A feasability study is urgently needed, not least because it will probably highlight potential problems around Botley, where compulsory purchase orders could be an issue. That could make proposals drag on, so it is important to get a move on.

The latest news shows the road is in the sights of the Government and has not been parked in the lay-by.