§ 37. Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to reduce delays to road users caused by maintenance work.
§ Mr. AtkinsExisting measures include programming of roadworks to avoid where possible having works too close together, or during peak traffic periods; improved contraflow layouts and video monitoring to enable prompt responses to traffic incidents at road works; the use of mobile lane closures for some works, in which a convoy of specially marked vehicles protect workmen instead of static lines of cones; and the use of lane rental contracts. Since these contracts were introduced in 1984, they are estimated to have saved over 2,000 days of lane closures worth around £40 million in avoided delays to road users.
New traffic management arrangements to increase vehicle flows past contraflow sites are being tested; these include the use of narrower traffic lanes to enable more lanes to be provided, and tidal flow systems in which the 88W number of lanes available in each direction changes to match traffic demand. The Department is also developing a computer system to assist in optimising the planning and scheduling of maintenance and improvement works on trunk roads, including motorways, to minimise disruption to road users.