§ Mr. HOLMESasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he will institute an inquiry into the most economical methods of road construction from the standpoint of road traffic users; and whether he will consider the desirability of laying down experimental lengths of road constructed by various methods, and of different types of materials, with the object of ascertaining the effects upon them of the various kinds of road vehicles?
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§ Mr. NEALAs I stated on 27th April, in reply to a question from the hon. and gallant Member for the Henley Division (Captain Terrell), committees of highway authority surveyors and engineers have been formed in each division of the country for an examination, in consultation with the divisional road engineers of the Ministry of Transport, of all questions bearing on economy in highway construction and maintenance. I should wish to await the results of the investigations of these committees before deciding whether a more formal inquiry is desirable. As regards the second part of the question, some valuable experiments of the kind indicated were carried out by the Road Board, but had to be discontinued in 1914 owing to the outbreak of War. Plans are in course of preparation for the resumption of definite experimental work of this nature under test conditions. I should add that a number of highway authorities make a practice of trying new methods of road surfacing and construction, and that the results of these experiments are closely watched by officers of the Ministry.