§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what planned works there are on the(a) A68, (b) A696 and (c) A7 between Newcastle and Edinburgh; [60644]
1136W(2) what his estimate is for the increase in traffic on the (a) A68, (b) A696 and (c) A7 between Newcastle and Edinburgh over the lifetime of the 10-year plan; [60646]
(3) if he will list the major infrastructure work carried out on the (a) A68, (b) A696 and (c) A7 between Newcastle and Edinburgh in the last 15 years, in each case giving (i) the aim and nature of the works, (ii) the name of the Government body responsible, (iii) the length of time the works took and (iv) the costs of the works. [60643]
§ Mr. JamiesonI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Tim Matthews to Mrs. Theresa May, dated 11 June 2002:
I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Transport to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the A68, A696 and A7 between Newcastle and Edinburgh.The Highways Agency only has responsibility for trunk roads in England, in this case the A696, part of the A68 and a short section of the A7 in England between Carlisle and the Scottish border that is earmarked for detrunking. Roads in Scotland, including the remaining sections of the A68 and A7, are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive.The only major infrastructure work carried out over the last 15 years on the A68/A696 was the building of the A696 Woolsington Bypass which connected to the Al Newcastle Western Bypass providing better access to Newcastle International Airport. The scheme was completed in 1990, was delivered by the then Department of Transport and cost £12.6 million.Improvement works currently planned for the A68/A696 include carriageway widening and resurfacing of the A696 at Heeston Bank, carriageway resurfacing and bridge deck waterproofing on the A68 between Whitelees Farm and Carter Bar, bridge deck waterproofing on the A68 at Rochester and various small highway improvements on the A696 at Ponteland.On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, we plan to harden verges along the A696 to provide passing points for Army tank convoys travelling to and from the MOD Otterburn Training Area. We hope to finish these works by November 2003.The Highways Agency does not forecast increases in traffic for specific roads. However, the growth in traffic on rural single carriageway roads in the National Road Traffic Forecast 1997 is forecast to be 22% by 2011, relative to 1996 levels.If you require any further information, Peter Moffatt in our Leeds Office will be happy to assist you. He can be contacted on 0113 283 6503.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) cars, motorbikes and vans, (b) lorries and (c) camper-vans and caravans used the (i) A68, (ii) A696 and (iii) A7 between Newcastle and Edinburgh on an average day in the last 12 months. [60645]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe available information on the average numbers of vehicles per day on the A696/A68/A7 route between Newcastle and Edinburgh in 2000, is given in the table:
Vehicle type Number Cars 5,041 Motorcycles 68 LGV (vans) 639 HGV (lorries) 446