§ Mr. Fryasked the Secretary of State for Transport which sections of motorway have the 10 highest average daily traffic flows; what the flows are on these sections and how they compare with the design standard for those sections; what the forecast flow was for those sections; and what plans he has for alleviating any overloading.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe table below gives the estimated annual average daily traffic flows for the latest years for which figures are available:
Motorway Section between junctions Vehicles per day Year M4 3–4 83,000 1975 M62 12–13 81,000 1976 M4 2–3 78,000 1975 M6 8–9 75,000 1975 M6 9–10 74,000 1974 M62 15–17 73,000 1976 M4 1–2 70,000 1977 M62 14–15 70,000 1977 M1 8–9 69,000 1975 M4 4–5 68,000 1975 The M4 between junctions 1 and 2, and part of the M4 between junctions 2 and 3, are dual two-lane urban motor- 186W ways, for which the design capacity is equivalent to 60,000 vehicles per day. The remaining sections of motorway are dual three-lane with a design capacity of 72,000 vehicles per day. Design capacity represents a level of flow generally free from congestion. In practice this can be exceeded substantially without undue delays or other adverse effects.
The estimates of future traffic flow made for these sections of motorway at their various design dates cannot be produced without undue difficulty and expense.
The planned orbital routes around London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester and the Oxford-Birmingham route will reduce the pressure on these sections of motorway. Details of the schemes concerned are listed in "Policy for Roads: England 1978" (Cmnd. 7132).