HC Deb 12 July 1967 vol 750 cc814-6
39. Mrs. Knight

asked the Minister of Transport when road repairs at present being carried out to the M45 motorway between the M1 junction and Dunchurch will be completed.

40. Mrs. Knight

asked the Minister of Transport why six miles of the M45 motorway has been cut down for such a long period.

Mr. Swingler

I would refer the hon. Lady to the Answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby on 5th June. A copy of the Ministry's statement dated 13th February, giving details of the M45 roadworks, is still available in the Library.—[Vol. 747, c. 135–36.]

Mrs. Knight

Will the Minister accept my assurance that there is great dissatisfaction with that reply and the feeling is very definitely that insufficient expediency has been used here, bearing in mind that the M45 motorway is the main artery between London and the Midlands, that a great deal of traffic goes on it, and that to have such a long distance as a one-lane traffic throughway only has raised very serious drawbacks?

Mr. Swingler

I think that the hon. Lady will realise that this is a matter of technical considerations. I do not know whether any of her constituents doubt that the M45 was in need of comprehensive repair, as was the whole of the Ml. Works began in 1962. Very serious consultations took place with the local authorities about the way in which this should be carried out, because no one doubted the need for the road works. We have done our best to avoid inconvenience, but it is inevitable. They will be completed by the end of September.

Mr. William Price

Will my hon. Friend confirm the widely held belief in my constituency that it has been necessary to pull up this road because of the incompetent manner in which it was put down by the previous Administration?

Mr. Swingler

My hon. Friend can judge for himself by the fact that this project was completed and opened in 1959, but was discovered to be in need of urgent comprehensive repairs in 1962.

Mr. Gurden

As the Minister must now be convinced that two-lane motorways cause great inconvenience when repairs have to be carried out, does the hon. Gentleman now accept, what I put to him a long time ago, that there ought to be a widening of these motorways by adding an extra lane?

Mr. Swingler

The hon. Gentleman knows that in the majority of cases there will be three lanes on either side. However, there are areas of the country where there is no traffic justification for such a measure and, therefore, we should be accused of wasting money and land if we adopted his suggestion.

Mr. Rowland

Does my hon. Friend also recall that the Conservative Administration set aside no funds for repairs to this road and that we are having to pay for them now?