Trunk Road Improvement (Hansard, 7 February 2000)

§ Lord Whitty

A start will be made in 2000–01 on 13 of the 37 schemes in the targeted programme of improvements announced inA New Deal for Trunk Roads in England—six more than previously planned. The acceleration of six schemes by bringing their starts forward from 2001–02 reflects our commitment to modernising the country's transport system. All the schemes in the targeted programme were assessed using the new approach to appraisal against our criteria of safety, environmental impact, economy, accessibility and integration.

The full list of starts now planned for 2000–01 is as follows:

A1: Willowburn-Denwick Improvement, Northumberland
A6: Great Glen Bypass, Leicestershire
A6: Clapham Bypass, Bedfordshire^*
A11: Roudham Heath-Attleborough, Dualling, Norfolk^*
A27: Polegate Bypass, East Sussex
A41: Aston Clinton Bypass, Buckinghamshire
A43: Whitfield Turn, Brackley Hatch Improvement, Northants
A43: Silverstone Bypass, Northants
A43: M40–B4031 Dualling, Oxon/Northants^*
A66: Stainburn and Great Clifton Bypass, Cumbria^*
A500: Basford, Hough, Shavington Bypass, Cheshire^*
A650: Bingley Relief Road, Bradford^*
A1033: Hedon Road Improvement, Hull.
^* Start previously planned for 2001–02.

In addition to these 13 schemes, work is planned to start later this year on the privately financed Birmingham northern relief road and we are at the final stages of letting the design, build finance and operate contract for improvements to the A13 in east London. Work will also start soon on widening the M2 between the A2 at Cobham and junction 4 at Rochester.