§ 86 and 87. Sir Clive Bossomasked the Minister of Transport (1) what is his estimate of the comparative costs of installing crash barriers on motorways before and after the motorways have been opened to traffic;
(2) what assessment has been made of the economic losses resulting from the interference with traffic whilst crash barriers are being installed on the central reservations of motorways; and whether he will arrange for crash barriers to be provided on new motorways before they are opened.
Mr. Bob BrownIt would generally be cheaper to install crash barriers beforehand, but costs vary greatly with each motorway. It would not be an effective use of road safety funds to install crash barriers on all new motorways. Where a crash barrier becomes necessary on an existing motorway, the investment appraisal would allow for the cost of delay to traffic during construction.