§ Mr. Arthur Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if, prior to his announcement of the Green Route as the preferred route for the M1/A1 link and as the cheapest of the alternatives proposed, he considered what economies to public expenditure might be achieved by east coast traffic making use of the M1 between Crick and Collingtree thereafter linking up with the dual carriageway running east towards Wellingborough and finally joining up with one or other of the four possible routes;
(2) if, following his decision on the M1/A1 link that the Green Route south of Naseby and north of Broughton be selected for further investigation, he will indicate what areas of land will be involved between the M1–M6 junction and the position of the proposed route where it meets the A6(T) south of Rothwell on the basis both of a single and dual carriageway and what consideration has been given to the question of the effects of the route on farming and food production.
(3) if, prior to his announcement of the Green Route as the preferred route for the M1/A1 link, a cost benefit analysis of the four alternative routes was undertaken, and if so, with what result;
(4) if, in the light of his statement regarding the proposed route of the M1/A1 link road and his reference to an already heavily congested section of the M1, he will give existing density figures for traffic on the southbound carriageway of the M1 from its junction with the M6 to the Collingtree junction in Northamptonshire for specified times over a 24 hour period and state the Department's estimate of when this stretch of road will be carrying traffic to the limit of its capacity;
(5) if, following his announcement that he has selected the Green corridor for 557W the route of the M1/A1 link road and his reference to the work of investigation taking some years to complete, he can indicate, subject to availability of resources, when construction is likely to start and how long a building period is involved.
§ Mr. CarmichaelMy right hon. Friend is satisfied that the Green Route chosen is the best available on both environmental and economic grounds. The land requirement for the length of road indicated by the hon. Member is expected to be about 200 acres for a single carriageway with an additional 100 acres for a dual carriageway.
Every effort will be made to minimise the effect on agriculture.
Each of the four alternative routes showed a positive economic benefit.
42,620 vehicle movements were observed between Junctions 16 and 17 of the M1 between 6 a.m. on 25th July and 6 a.m. on 26th July 1975. The M1 is expected to reach the limit of its design capacity at this point during the next 10 to 20 years.
Work on the link road is not expected to start before 1980. Until preparation is further advanced it is not possible to say how long it will take to complete the link.