§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total average cost of building a mile of motorway.
§ Mr. CarmichaelThe construction costs vary widely depending on the nature of the terrain through which the motorway passes and on whether the location is urban or rural. The rural motorway costs per mile for construction completed in 1973 at mid-1973 prices were from £657,000 to £1,400,000 with an average of £940,000 for dual two-lane and from £657,000 to £3,600,000 with an average of £1,600,000 for dual three-lane.
Urban motorway costs are usually considerably higher and with smaller samples no meaningful averages can be given. These construction costs do not include land costs, the variation in which is so great according to geographical location and adjacent land use that any statement of range and average cost would not be meaningful.