§ Mr. Speedasked the Secretary of State for Transport which sections of motorways currently have a traffic flow in excess of their design capacity; and what is the percentage of that excess.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe no longer work to fixed design capacities and I cannot therefore specify the degree of overloading in the way requested. Depending on the local circumstances, however, when traffic flow reaches a certain density, delays begin to build up. On certain sections of M1, M4, M5, M6, M62 and M63 traffic flows are at or approaching these levels during peak periods.
We have in hand proposals for widening the worst pressed lengths of M1, M5 and M63 and a short section of M4 between London Airport and the M25.