HL Deb 01 July 1971 vol 321 cc571-2WA
LORD THOMAS

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (i) What was the actual cost of the M.4 Motorway between London and Maidenhead, as originally constructed;
  2. (ii) What is the estimate cost of the widening that is at present being carried out;
  3. (iii) When they expect that this widening will be completed;
  4. (iv) What would have been the estimated saving to the Exchequer if this widening had been undertaken as part of the original construction.

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

The 24½ miles of the M.4 motorway between Chiswick and Maidenhead, as originally constructed, cost just over £27¼ million. The current widening of the 8½-mile length of the original Slough and Maidenhead bypasses is estimated to cost about £2.4 million; in addition, about £0.3 million is expected to be spent on lighting and central reservation safety fences. The widening is expected to be finished by September, 1971.

The Maidenhead and Slough bypasses were opened in 1961 and 1963 respectively. If dual three-lane carriageways had been provided for in these contracts, the total extra cost would probably have been about £1.25 million. The estimated cost of widening now (£2.4 million) represents about £1.34 million when converted to 1961 prices—an increase of £90,000. But the postponement of the widening to 1971 has released investible funds for other purposes: the sum to be set aside in 1961 to make the necessary resources of men and materials available for widening in 1971 would have been £620,000, which represents a net saving in resource cost terms of £630,000 when compared with the estimated cost (£1.25 million) of including dual three-lane carriagways in the original contracts.