§ 7. Mr. Henigasked the Minister of Transport what representations she has received about converting the Greyhound Railway Bridge over the River Lune into a second road bridge to relieve congestion on the A6 at Skerton bridge in Lancaster; what answer she has given to these representations; and if she will make a statement of the intentions concerning the traffic problem caused by Skerton bridge.
§ Mr. John MorrisLancashire County Council, which has made representations, has been told that if the rail service using the Greyhound bridge is withdrawn conversion to road use would still have to compete with other desirable schemes for a place in the roads programme. No scheme affecting traffic at Skerton Bridge is included in the programme up to 1970.
§ Mr. HenigDoes my hon. Friend realise that in a small town the size of Lancaster the traffic congestion caused by the Skerton Bridge is quite appalling 1692 and that this bridge is the one road link between the two sides of the city? Has not the time come, in the 1960s, to do something about this appalling transport problem, in the interests of all the people who live in the area and of the thousands of holidaymakers who go to Morecambe every year?
§ Mr. MorrisI very well understand my hon. Friend's anxiety about the improvement of Skerton Bridge, and I shall bear in mind what he has said. The construction of the M6 Lancaster by-pass has considerably relieved pressure on the A6 through the City. Any proposal for improvement would have to be considered on its current merits for a place in the roads programme and could not be regarded as of high priority.