HC Deb 27 March 1968 vol 761 cc1530-1
43. Mr. Luard

asked the Minister of Transport when work will begin on the improvement of the A40 between Stoken-church and the Wheatley bypass.

Mr. Carmichael

Preparatory work is in progress for a new motorway to relieve the A40 between Stokenchurch and the Wheatley Bypass. Construction will depend on the completion of the statutory procedures and availability of funds.

Mr. Luard

Bearing in mind that traffic on this section of the route is building up all the time and that much of the benefit of the other sections of motorway which have been constructed are wasted while this section is in its present condition, can my hon. Friend give an assurance that work will start at the earliest possible moment?

Mr. Carmichael

I can assure my hon. Friend that work will start at the earliest possible moment, but there are difficulties in the part of the country through which it is proposed that this road should go. There is a route, for instance, across the Chiltern Escarpment which presents great difficulty and is likely to be highly controversial from the point of view of amenity.