HC Deb 25 January 1982 vol 16 cc258-9W
Mr. Straw

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total volume of traffic for which the M65 Blackburn to M6/M61 section was planned; when that estimate was made; whether the estimate has at any time been changed since the original decision to connect the motorway system between Blackburn and the M6/M61 was made; and, if so, when and what was the nature of the changes.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

In 1975 the proposed new road between M6/M61 and Whitebirk, Blackburn—which would not have been a motorway—was estimated to carry between 26, 000 and 35, 000 vehicles per day by 1997 depending on the section of the road concerned. Various changes after 1975, including new national traffic forecasts and the scaling down of the central Lancashire new town resulted in the April 1980 decision that a new road could no longer be justified.

Mr. Straw

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total estimated cost of (a) land purchase and compensation, and (b) construction of the Blackburn to M6/M61 section of the M65 motorway at the time the cancellation of this section was announced by him in 1980; what is the estimated cost, on the same price basis, of (a) land purchase and compensation and (b) construction of the now planned upgrading of the existing route between Whitebirk, Blackburn and the Salmesbury M6 interchange; and whether these estimates include the full cost of providing (i) an enlarged intersection, or flyover at the Brownhill roundabout, and (ii) a dual carriageway between the Saxon Inn, Blackburn, and the Trafalgar Inn, Salmesbury.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

In 1980 the estimated total cost of the proposed new road from Blackburn to the M6/M61 was about £40 million, including land and compensation. Work on the new proposals to improve the A677/A6119 route between Salmesbury and Whitebirk has not yet reached the stage where a firm estimate can be produced. Consulting engineers have been asked, amongst other things, to investigate the Brownhill roundabout and a dual carriageway between the Saxon Inn, Blackburn and the Trafalgar Inn, Salmesbury.