§ 54. Sir clive Bossomasked the Minister of Transport how many miles of motorway will be included in the pool of new trunk road schemes to be prepared for the first half of the 1970s; and what will be the total mileage of motorways in Great Britain when these schemes have been completed.
§ Mr. SwinglerIt is too soon to say. Decisions on the standard of construction for many of the schemes are dependent upon further investigations of estimated traffic volumes, costs and benefits, which are an essential part of the preparation pool arrangements.
§ Sir Clive BossomCan the Parliamentary Secretary say when we are to get the 2,700 miles of motorway and express ways which the County Surveyors Society maintain are essential for this country? Is it not a fact that fewer miles of motorway are being built at present than at any time during the past two years—150 miles compared to an average of 170 miles since 1965?
§ Mr. SwinglerMy right hon. Friend has reiterated recently that we are all set to achieve 1,000 miles of motorway by the early 1970s. The hon. Gentleman will have seen that some motorway projects are included in the pool, for example, the South Orbital. Others will clearly be built to motorway standards, but not until all of these schemes have been examined shall we see exactly how many miles of this will come under the category of motorways as such.