§ 28. Mr. Reesasked the Minister of Transport when he now expects the Ml length of the Neath-Abergavenny Heads of the Valleys Road to be completed; what it will cost; and if he will reconsider enlarging the scheme to a dual carriageway road.
§ Mr. HayWe expect that the improvement of the Heads of the Valleys road from Abergavenny to Hirwaun will be completed in 1965 or 1966. Its estimated cost is about £6,250,000. I cannot say when the road from Hirwaun to Neath will be improved. With regard to the carriageway width, I cannot add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on 17th February, 1960, to my hon. Friend the Member for Barry (Mr. Gower).
§ Mr. ReesI thank my hon. Friend for that reply and I welcome the fact that we shall see this road completed in the foreseeable future. Will he reconsider the question of the width of the road, having regard to the fact that new industry coming to West Glamorganshire and East Carmarthenshire is so related to industry in the Midlands that it will create an increase of traffic on this road which his Department could never have taken into account when the road was planned?
§ Mr. HayThe position is not quite as my hon. Friend says. Taking into account the development he mentioned, we estimated that the traffic on the Heads of the Valleys Road would not reach a figure of 11,000 passenger car units per day until about twenty years from now. That is within the limit in which it is our policy to provide only a single 33-ft. carriageway.
§ Mr. CallaghanDoes not the Minister realise that he has neglected two important factors? Is he aware that there is general support for the view which has been expressed? Is he aware that the 1149 gradients on this road, which at certain points is 1,000-ft. up, combined with the climatic conditions, create the possibility of icing in winter which would convert parts of the road into a death trap? Will he reconsider the suggestions made by the hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Rees)?
§ Mr. HayI will look into the points raised by the hon. Gentleman, but I do not think that they are likely to change our views on this matter.