Campaigners have urged the government to cancel £10.5bn in road projects and use the money to fund new rail and public transport projects.

In a letter to transport secretary Louise Haigh, the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) said the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing (designs pictured) and the £1.5bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine scheme were “large and unnecessary” road projects.

The CBT argues that rather than basing the need for new road schemes on increasing capacity for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), the government should instead invest in rail freight upgrades as an alternative to road building which would free up existing road space “for a fraction of the cost”.

Haigh is expected to make a final decision next week on whether to grant a development consent order (DCO) for the Lower Thames Crossing, which links Essex and Kent.

But the CBT said that neither project makes “economic sense” compared to investing the same amount of money in rail freight and public transport projects.

“For a fraction...