§ 32. Mr. E. Johnsonasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what are his proposals for the construction of a motorway between Manchester and London.
§ Mr. WatkinsonThe construction of the first section of the London—Yorkshire motorway, with a spur to Dunchurch, for Birmingham, will be followed at a later date by a further motorway between the north of Birmingham and the Preston by-bass, which will pass quite close to Manchester. In addition, A.45 between Dunchurch and Birmingham will be brought up to dual carriageway standard throughout.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs my right hon. Friend aware that I heard a little of his answer? Is he further aware that, on average, it now takes at least one hour longer to drive from Manchester to London than before the war?
§ Mr. J. HarrisonIn dealing with this traffic from Manchester to London, would not the Minister agree that the provision of roads leading to the new bridge across the Trent at Nottingham would really give substantial help?
§ Mr. WatkinsonI could build all sorts of roads everywhere, all of which would make a contribution to relieving traffic problems, but what I have to do is to get the right kind of priorities which will help the traffic most quickly and get it flowing faster than it is today.