§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he proposes to spend £7¼ million on an interchange at the junction of the East Lancashire Road and Bolton Road; whether this plan has any bearing on the recent decision by the Greater Manchester Council to avoid building an inner ring road through Salford; and whether he will consider special traffic lights and bus priority as an alternative to the £7¼ million interchange.
§ Mr. CarmichaelThe proposed grade separated interchange at the junction of the East Lancashire Road, Bolton Road and Manchester Road—A580/A666/A6—is a trunk road improvement scheme first announced in January 1966 as having been selected for preparation in detail for inclusion in the trunk road programme.
The scheme forms part of the planned improvement of the A580 and A6 and will improve significantly the distribution of traffic at the intersection of three major radial routes to central Salford and Manchester. Apart from overcoming congestion at the junction it is an essential part of the improved link between the A6 and the motorway complex at Worsley Interchange. The proposal has no direct bearing on the Greater Manchester Council's own proposals for the construction of an inner ring road through Salford.
Alternative proposals for the improvement of the junction, including special traffic signals, bus priority and other traffic management measures, were fully investigated but none provided an adequate solution to the traffic and environmental problems.