§ Mr McGuireasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate his Department has made of the amount by which the costs of installing overhead lighting on motorways could be reduced, if such installation took place when the motorway was being built.
§ Mr. Michael HeseltineNo such estimate has been made. Installation on an existing motorway is more costly by virtue of the need to cone off traffic lanes, restricted hours of working and delays to traffic. These vary with the traffic density on the motorway and are not easily quantified.
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§ Mr. McGuireasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of miles of motorway on which overhead lighting has been installed, giving in each case the name of the motorway and the total number of miles installed on each one, the location of the longest continuous stretch, and the cost per mile in each case of installation and maintenance.
§ Mr. Michael HeseltineThe total route mileage of lighted motorway in England is 54 miles made up as follows:
Miles M1 4.5 M4 22.8 M5/M6 (Midland Liks) 17.2 M61/M66/M64 (Worsley Junction) 7.5 M6 2.0 The total of 54 miles includes complete lighting at 20 interchanges but excludes lighting on local authority motorway link roads.
Longest individual length of lighted motorway at present is 19.3 miles of the London end of the M4.
Some interchanges have complex layouts and include substantial lengths of motorway link roads which are lit but which are not included in the route mileage figures set out above.