§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Transport if for each section of the M25 and for the M25 as a whole he will give (a) the pre-construction traffic flow estimates and (b) the latest estimates for future traffic flows; if he will specify those sections of the M25 where traffic flows exceed 50,000 vehicles per day; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyI refer my hon. Friend to the pre-construction estimates of traffic flows given to him in my answer of 25 February 1986, at columns 501–502. Traffic flows on those sections of the M25 equipped with automatic counting loops are listed below. Loops are being installed on the remaining sections this year.
Drivers will use only part of the M25 during their journey. Some journeys on the motorway are short. Aggregate figures for the M25 as a whole would not be significant.
The motorway has been fully open for three months. It is premature to estimate future traffic flows before traffic patterns have settled down. When measures to relieve congestion on the south-western sector of the motorway were announced on 28 August 1986, it was made clear that traffic would be monitored closely — which is why automatic counting loops are being installed on all sections—and that further studies would be undertaken as necessary.
Traffic flows for December 1986 are as follows:
531W
24 hour average daily flow Section (Junction numbers) 000s 1–2 — 2–3 — 3–4 48 4–5 53 5–6 68 6–7 75 7–8 — 8–9 75 9–10 78 10–11 94 11–12 106 12–13 — 13–14 117 14–15 108 15–16 95
Section (Junction numbers) 000s 16–17 92 17–18 — 18–19 — 19–20 87 20–21 — 21–22 — 22–23 — 23–24 — 24–25 — 25–26 74 26–27 72 27–28 — 28–29 — 29–30/31 68