§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current progress on the programme of barrier replacement on the M4; and what information he has on the standard and quality of the original installation.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyPursuant to the reply to my hon. Friend on 6 December, (Official Report, column 97), 79.3 km of safety fencing on the central reserve of the M4 in England have already been replaced. A further 5.2 km is scheduled for replacement this financial year, and 3.8 km next financial year. Up to 61.3 km will be dealt with in subsequent years.
Despite the fact that the Department engaged a consulting engineer to supervise their installation, we know that some original concrete post footings were not constructed to the shape specified by the Department.
TRRL research report 75, published in 1986, showed that the safety fencing involved is nonetheless still performing better than its design requirements.
Replacement of safety fencing can with greatest safety and with convenience he done when other major maintenance is being carried out. There is no case for faster replacement given that the safety fencing continues to perform as intended.