Three-Lane Roads

HC Deb 01 July 1964 vol 697 cc219-20W

90. Mr. Gower

asked the Minister of Transport if he will take steps, in view of the steady growth of traffic, to substitute four-lane roads in all cases where three-lane roads have been contemplated or approved.

Mr. Marples

No. Three-lane roads are a reasonably safe and economical form of construction within the traffic capacity for which they are designed. In deciding the design standard for a new road, I take into account the expected growth of traffic over the next twenty years.

In practice there is little scope for constructing three-lane trunk roads. Only 5¼ further miles are planned in the next four years. Over the same period we plan to convert 50 miles of three-lane road to dual carriageway.