§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the capacity, both private cars and industrial traffic, which each motorway at present constructed was designed to take in terms of numbers and weight; and if he will compare this with the capacity each is carrying at the present time.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that the information requested is not available except at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport what methods his Department uses to evaluate reliability of construction of motorways.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe methods used to assess the reliability of the materials and construction methods used in the construction of motorways are described in the 1976 edition of the Department's specification for road and bridgeworks together with amendments issued subsequently.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing how each motorway has stood up to specifications since its construction.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that the information requested is not available except at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish information on any comparison his Department has made on the construction performance of motorways in the United Kingdom compared with the other major industrial countries, including the United States of America.
§ Mrs. ChalkerMy Department has not made any comparison of the construction performance of motorways in the United Kingdom with those of other countries because the information on traffic loading, terrain and weather conditions to which each is subject, and which is needed to make meaningful comparisons, is not published by any country.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing the construction cost per mile of United Kingdom motorways compared with each of the countries in the European Economic Community expressed in £ sterling.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe cost of constructing motorways is dependent upon the amount and nature of the earthworks, the bearing strength of the ground, the amount of bridgeworks, and the land costs involved in each case. These costs vary substantially along the length of every motorway so that comparisons based upon cost per mile 235W are very imprecise and potentially misleading to a high degree, whether this comparison is made within the United Kingdom or between the countries of the EEC. Cost and construction data needed to make meaningful comparisons between EEC countries are not published.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will compare motorway repair costs per mile in each of the countries in the European Economic Community and state the basis of any comparison.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI cannot compare motorway repair costs per mile of each of the EEC countries because the information needed to make comparisons is not published by the countries concerned.