§ Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will announce the line of the proposed M80 motorway between Stepps and Haggs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy right hon. and learned Friend announced in his statement of May 1989 that the central Scotland motorway schemes were to be a priority of the Scottish Office's roads programme. Construction work started on the M80 Stepps bypass, the adjacent scheme to M80 Stepps-Haggs, in November 1989. Aerial and ground surveys for the M80 Stepps-Haggs scheme have now been completed. Similarly, a key traffic survey has been completed. The final feasibility report can now be expected in spring of this year and it should be possible for a decision on a preferred route to be made shortly thereafter. The present expectation is that draft orders will be published later in the year with a public exhibition being held at that time to explain the proposals in detail.