§ 21. Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on measures being taken to improve safety and the flow of traffic on roads in the Basingstoke area.
§ Mr. AtkinsMost roads in the Basingstoke area are the responsibility of Hampshire county council as local highway authority. Trunk roads, for which my Department is responsible, are confined to the A339 and the M3 motorway.
Preparations for the A339 Basingstoke northern bypass stage 3 dualling scheme, to improve the 2.5 mile length between the Reading road and Roman road junctions, are now well advanced. We hope to start main works next spring for completion by late summer 1992.
The national programme also includes major schemes on the A339 for providing a grade separated junction at the present Black Dam roundabout at Basingstoke, and for improving the length of about 7 miles between Basingstoke and the planned Headley bypass. For both these schemes, the roads report "Trunk Roads, England: Into the 1990s" gives a target date of 1993 for the next key preparation stage, announcement of preferred route.
We have no current plans for improving the M3 in the Basingstoke area.