§ 2.45 p.m.
§ LORD O'NEILL OF THE MAINEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it would not be possible to complete without delay the dual carriageway between the South end of the M.3 and the Winchester By-Pass, thereby obviating a bottleneck, pending a decision on the final route of the motorway.
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, the route of the M.3 Motorway southwards from Popham to Compton was fixed in 1973. Her Majesty's Government have no proposals for further lengths of dual carriageway on the A.33 trunk road between Popham and the Winchester By-Pass.
§ LORD O'NEILL OF THE MAINEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I ask whether he has any information as to likely completion date for this new section of the motorway?
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, the best answer I can give the noble Lord is that, provided all goes well, the new section may be started in two to three years' time.