HC Deb 29 April 1981 vol 3 c769
1. Mr. Cadbury

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish orders for the extension of the M40 motorway from Oxford to Birmingham.

The Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Kenneth Clarke)

Later this year.

Mr. Cadbury

Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that this road forms a vital part of the export route from the industrial Midlands to the South Coast and that because of the present inadequate road system many Midlands companies are paying unnecessarily high transport costs? Will he ensure that the M40 is extended to Birmingham as soon as possible?

Mr. Clarke

I agree with my hon. Friend that present routes between the West Midlands and Southampton are inadequate, and the new road could also provide some relief for the M1 which is congested. I assure my hon. Friend that we are pressing on with the road as quickly as possible. We will publish the draft orders later this year and the scheme is progressing with real seriousness.

Mr. Soley

Will the Under-Secretary bear it in mind that, although many of us have no objection to the proposed link, where the road goes through my constituency it is not of motorway standard, that it already poses many safety problems in Hammersmith and the neighbouring constituency of Ealing, Acton and massive problems of pollution by noise and vibration for those who live alongside the road? Will the hon. and learned Gentleman assure us that any increase of traffic will be safely conducted through that non-motorway section and, above all, will his Department give some help to those who live beside the non-motorway section?

Mr. Clarke

I realise that there are problems where the A40 goes into London. We have a steady programme of improvements planned for the road, and we hope to have them completed by the time the M40 is opened. I appreciate the problem and we will do our best to help.

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