§ 6. Mr. KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total spending by central Government on roads in Wales since 1979; and how many miles of motorway and trunk roads have been laid since that year.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsSince 1979–80 just over £1 billion has been spent on motorways and trunk roads in Wales and over £270 million has been provided to Welsh local authorities as transport supplementary grant for improvement of their roads. Twenty-two miles of motorway and 110 miles of trunk road have been constructed.
§ Mr. KnoxCan my hon. Friend say what further schemes he has in mind for the current year and what the cost of these is likely to be?
§ Mr. RobertsBefore the end of the financial year we expect to let contracts for four schemes, costing over £53 million. Those are subject to completion of outstanding procedures and the availability of resources. They are on the A48 the Nantycaws-Coed Hirion bypass, on the A55, the Travellers' Inn improvement and the Pen y clip tunnels and on the A483, the Chirk bypass.
§ Mr. FootDoes the hon. Gentleman not think that it is high time the Welsh Office looked at all the requests that have been put to it for the enlargement of the heads of the valley road and its establishment as a proper dual carriageway, instead of the virtual death trap that was built some years ago? Will the Welsh Office look afresh at the whole project? If developments in other parts of Wales are to go ahead, surely the Welsh Office will look afresh at the problem.
§ Mr. RobertsThe right hon. Gentleman will know that we shall shortly be publishing "Roads in Wales" and our plans for the future. I note what he says, but the heads of the valleys road is extremely good and following my right hon. Friend's Valleys initiative, there will be further improvements in the roads in the valleys.
§ Sir Anthony MeyerIs my hon. Friend satisfied that county councils have the same sense of urgent priority for the construction of roads for tourism and other industries as the Welsh Office has so commendably shown in its construction programme?
§ Mr. RobertsLocal authorities have some £19.5 million available to them this year. I understand my hon. Friend's feelings, and I hope that local authorities will look to their roads, as he has so kindly said that the Welsh Office is doing.
§ Mr. LivseyWhen will the Secretary of State publish proposals in "Roads in Wales", which is due this year? Will he pay particular attention to the importance of north-south communications in Wales and the fact that British Coal is holding up an important section of the A470 from Pentrebach to Cefn-coed-y-cymmer in the constituency of the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Mr. Rowlands)? Will he ensure that that scheme goes ahead at the earliest possible moment?
§ Mr. RobertsI am sure that it will interest the hon. Gentleman to know that since 1979 over £87 million has been spent on the A470, and it is our policy to undertake selective improvements on that road. We are expecting to start on the A4060 at Merthyr, subject to completion of preparatory work and the availability of resources.