§ 20. Mr. Raphael Tuckasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why, in view of the fact that the stretch of the M1 between Watford and Hemel Hempstead is to be made into a dual four-lane carriageway, he does not also propose to make the stretches north of Hemel Hempstead and south of Watford also into dual four-lane carriageways so as to make the whole stretch uniform.
§ Mr. SpeedDecisions on the future standard of the M1 north and south of the Watford-Hemel Hempstead section must await the outcome of studies into traffic flows on Ringway 3 and between Hemel Hempstead and Luton.
§ Mr. TuckDoes the Minister realise that whether there is a change from a three-lane carriageway in each direction to two lanes in each direction as at present, or from a four-lane carriageway in each direction into three lanes each way, which is what the Government apparently envisage, there will be bottlenecks at each end and that these are sources of danger? Will the Undersecretary look at this whole situation again and ensure that it is uniform? It does not matter whether there are three lanes each way or four but they must be uniform throughout.
§ Mr. SpeedThat is precisely one of the reasons why we are looking at the studies in the north. The present proposed four-lane section terminates at major junctions at each end where it is comparatively easy to change from three to four lanes.
§ Mr. MadelWill the Under-Secretary confirm that basically we shall have to make do with the M1 because the Government have no plans for ripping up great sections of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in order to build another motorway?
§ Mr. SpeedCertainly we have no plans for ripping up the country to build another motorway. We have undertaken studies into the difficulties between Hemel 1498 Hempstead and Luton which will reveal in due course whether we need to undertake action on that particular section of the M1.