§ 20. Mr. Doddsasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress has been made in the construction of the Dartford-Purfleet Tunnel and the approaches; and to give an estimate of the date of completion of the tunnel.
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. Hugh Molson)The contractors for the main tunnel started operations last July and are at present engaged on preliminary work on both sides of the river. It is expected that the driving of the tunnel will begin in three or four months' time. The whole scheme should be finished by about 1962.
§ Mr. DoddsI thank the Minister for that reply, but can he say whether it is not possible to have the tunnel and the approaches completed before 1962? Is not he aware of the intolerable traffic conditions which, of course, can be only temporarily interrupted by the shortage of petrol? Can he expedite that date?
§ Mr. MolsonWe are fully aware of the great need for this tunnel. That is why it has been given high priority. But it is a very difficult engineering project. The question of safety is involved. We are grouting the soil, which is not safe, and I am afraid that it would not be possible to speed up the scheme any more.