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The road transport industry has described any decision to slash road investment as "dangerously myopic", following reports that £6bn could be cut from road building as the government struggles with public debt.

Last week The Guardian published a leaked memo warning of "looming spending cuts" on major transport projects after Department for Transport (DfT) officials described  the consequences of restoring order to public finances. A total of £30bn could be cut from the transport budget, the newspaper claimed.

Despite the leaked memo, the DfT says its £6bn roads programme is "progressing".

However, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says that future spending cuts on major transport projects, owing to a massive public investment shortfall, will not only damage the UK's road and rail infrastructure but severely jeopardise Britain's economic future.

FTA spokeswoman Jo Tanner adds: "News of massive cuts in much-needed road and rail infrastructure projects will send a shiver down the spine of an industry that forms the backbone of business in the country.

"Although the UK's transport companies lead the way in terms of investing in greener and newer technology, they are not being met halfway by public investment in our roads and railways."

Jack Semple, director of policy at the Road Haulage Association, says that about one and a half million tonnes of carbon are emitted each year because of congestion on UK roads. "There is an environmental as well as an economic impact of a failure to invest in the roads to increase capacity."

Even though the government is in more debt than at any time since the Second World War, investment in road infrastructure should not be cut, Semple argues. "The longer you put off maintenance, the more it is going to cost you in the long run."

The DfT says the calculations in the memo referred to the department's "long-term funding guideline" and not to actual budgets, which will be set in the next comprehensive spending review.