§ Mr. Watkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Transport what maintenance work he anticipates will be necessary to road surfaces of the Severn Bridge during the current year.
§ Mr. William RodgersIn my reply to my hon. Friend on 22 November 1978—[Vol. 958, c.629–30.]—I referred to a list 391W of maintenance items and future works, a copy of which has been deposited in the Library. This said that it would become necessary some time to replace deck surfacing although patching will continue as long as necessary.
An inspection of the Severn and Wye bridges has shown that about 1,500 square metres, out of a total area on the two bridges of over 55,000 square metres, needs patching this year. About half of the patching must be done now to ensure that it will last through the summer. The rest can be left until autumn.
The work has been programmed so that only short lengths of a lane will be closed at any time, thus keeping traffic disruption to a minimum. It will take about three weeks, but if bad weather causes delay, the busy period around Easter will be avoided.