§ Mr. SpellerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the traffic volume on the Ilminster bypass and on the A361 north Devon link road; and what plans he has to dual these roads.
§ Mr. ChopeThe Ilminster bypass carries an average of 14,000 vehicles per day; the figure for the north Devon link road between Tiverton and Barnstaple varies between 7,500 and 11,500 over the different sections of the route.
I announced on 8 July our intention to add a second carriageway to the Ilminster bypass, in the light of the forecast doubling of traffic volume by early in the next century.
Traffic flows on the single carriageway section of the north Devon link road are not expected to grow to the same extent and the road will continue to have capacity to deal with the forecast flow. I therefore have no plans to dual it.