HC Deb 07 June 1967 vol 747 cc1037-9
4. Mr. Winnick

asked the Minister of Transport what progress is being made on proposals to lessen noise during road construction.

Mr. Morris

There have been a number of recent developments in the use and design of equipment. These include the introduction of quieter compressors and piling methods, and the wider use of hydraulically operated machines, mufflers, prefabricated bridge sections and central mixing plant for concrete.

in converting to dual carriageway those stretches of single carriage-way rural trunk roads and important rural classified roads, which had a speed limit of 50 miles per hour imposed on them in 1965 because of their bad accident records.

The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport (Mr. Stephen Swingler)

Dualling, or by-passing, of these lengths of road will be governed by the criteria applicable to the programming of new road construction generally.

With permission, I shall publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the present position.

Mr. Dance

Does not the imposition of a 50 m.p.h. limit on these roads prove that they are not up to standard and are, in fact, extremely dangerous?

Mr. Swingler

That is so, but there are other criteria, traffic volumes and so on, apart from the danger factor, to be taken into account. When the hon. Gentleman examines the table which will be circulated, he will see that we have under construction or firmly programmed 55 miles for by-passing and 43 miles for dualling, and we shall be considering further lengths shortly.

Following is the table:

Mr. Winnick

Does my hon. Friend realise that this is still a very worrying problem for many people living near places where road construction is taking place? Is he aware, for example, that there is a large flyover being constructed in Croydon and an enormous amount of inconvenience is being caused to my constituents?

Mr. Morris

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing that case to my attention. The Ministry is watching all these technical developments. In the construction of the Hendon urban motorway, for example, which was recently opened, two unusual measures were taken by my right hon. Friend to ensure that the disturbance to nearby householders was reduced.

Mr. Peter Walker

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that we would prefer a little more noise from road construction and a little less noise about road preparation?