§ 7. Mr. Fryasked the Minister of Transport when he plans to announce his decision on the standard to which the Oxford to Birmingham section of the M40 is to be built.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe necessary further studies have now been completed and I hope to announce the decisions on the standard and status of the new road in the near future.
§ Mr. FryI am grateful to my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he bear in mind that motorways are by far the safest type of road and that any down-grading from the original plan will mean that more people will be killed and injured? Does he recognise that that will be the result of the dual-purpose road is built instead?
§ Mr. ClarkeI accept that the accident record of motorways is much better than that of other major roads. The decision on the appropriate standard for the road must be made in the light of traffic surveys and an economic analysis of the costs and benefits. We are near to making a decision. It is a vital route.
§ Mr. StokesWould it not be cheaper and generally more satisfactory if the M40 extension from Oxford to Birmingham were abandoned and the present main road from Oxford to Birmingham widened and improved, as has been done most successfully along many stretches of the A1?
§ Mr. ClarkeThat is one of the decisions that we have to make. There has been an investigation into a possible alternative—namely, improving the existing roads north of Banbury. We shall reach decisions on that at the same time as we reach decisions on the status of the whole route.