§ Mr. Knoxasked the Minister of Transport why it took traffic one hour to travel between exit 11 and the junction with the M5 on the south lane of the M6 on the afternoon of Sunday 15 July; and if he will ensure that this sort of congestion does not happen again anywhere.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI am afraid that I am unable to give the undertaking requested for the time being. An essential major maintenance programme is being undertaken on the Midlands motorways. While every effort is made to minimise inconvenience to travellers, some delay is inevitable.
A delay of one hour is exceptional even on these sections under repair but does occur occasionally as a result of unforeseeable incidents.
The weekend referred to was the one chosen to install a contraflow system to enable resurfacing to begin on the northbound carriageway. The close restrictions on southbound traffic were necessary to allow the work to be completed as quickly as possible so as to avoid even worse delays in the Monday morning rush hour.