§ 89. Mr. Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has considered the idea of tunnel motorways for city centres, as suggested in a paper presented in 1966 to the world meeting of the International 128W Road Federation, details of which are in his possession; what conclusions he has reached; and if he will call for an evaluation of the idea.
§ Mr. Graham PageThe complete deep tunnel motorway network and parking system for London proposed in the 1966 paper were examined and were found to involve great costs and to present formidable technical difficulties. That does not, however, condemn tunnelling as a method of urban road construction.
The Department has been studying this whole subject and is planning to support a research and development programme on the design and construction of tunnels which, it is hoped, will lead to improved methods and reduce future tunnelling costs.