§ Mr. William Priceasked the Minister of Transport what further measures are to be introduced to improve conditions on the A45 between Thurlaston roundabout and the Birmingham boundary.
Mr. Bob BrownApart from the provision of five flyovers on the A45, no further road improvements are planned, 81W except for minor works such as those at Ryton-on-Dunsmore of which my hon. Friend is already aware.
§ Mr. William Priceasked the Minister of Transport when he expects the project to light the A45 between the Thurlaston roundabout and the Birmingham boundary to be complete.
Mr. Bob BrownIt is intended to carry out the work in stages.
The length from Birmingham boundary to Coventry eastern boundary is now in an advanced stage of design, although some points about the lighting near Birmingham Airport are still to be resolved. Work should start in late 1970 and take about seven months to complete. Design of the rest of the system will start soon and the whole length should be finished early in 1972.
§ Mr. William Priceasked the Minister of Transport (1) how many fatal accidents have occurred since the 60 m.p.h. limit was introduced on the A45 between Thurlaston roundabout and the Birmingham boundary ; and what was the figure for the comparable period leading up to that introduction ;
(2) how many serious accidents have occurred since the 60 m.p.h. limit was introduced on the A45 between Thurlaston roundabout and the Birmingham boundary ; and what was the figure for the comparable period leading up to the introduction ;
(3) whether he will introduce a 50 m.p.h. speed limit on the A45 between the Thurlaston roundabout and the Birmingham boundary ;
(4) whether he will take an early opportunity to drive along the A45 from Thurlaston roundabout to the Birmingham boundary and back again.
Mr. Bob BrownMy right hon. Friend is grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind invitation but he is well aware of conditions on the A45. Detailed accident figures are only available up to the end of July. Since the limit was imposed there have been 17 fatal accidents and 119 serious accidents in 21 months, compared with 25 and 146 respectively in the two year period before. Traffic has moreover substantially increased over the four years. I see no82W reason to depart from the decision to keep the 60 m.p.h. limit in force.
§ Mr. William Priceasked the Minister of Transport when he expects work to commence on the proposed flyover at the Blue Boar junction on the A45, near the Thurlaston roundabout.
Mr. Bob BrownIf there is no objection to the Section 9 Order which is to be published this month, we hope that work will start in the late summer of 1970.
§ Mr. William Priceasked the Minister of Transport when he expects work to commence on the proposed flyover at the junction of the A45 and the Banbury Road, near Coventry.