§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will instruct contractors carrying out repairs on the M1 and M6 which involve lane closures to give earlier notice by sign of which lane or lanes are closed, rather than simply work and distance signs, at distances up to five miles ahead to enable traffic to pull out of affected lanes so avoiding tailbacks.
§ Mrs. ChalkerNo. I regret that it is not practical to expect drivers to vacate traffic lanes at distances of up to five miles from the works. I am writing to the hon. Member with further details.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will request contractors carrying out repairs which involve carriageway closures on the M1 and M6 to remove cones where it is safe to do so when work is suspended during the Christmas and new year holiday and at other times when suspension of work exceeds four hours.
§ Mrs. ChalkerDuring the Christmas and new year holiday—24 December to 2 January—no lane closures are planned on the M1. On the M6 limited, single lane closures are planned between 31 December and 2 January to enable safety barrier repairs to be carried out in the central reserve at junction 2 and between junctions 14 and 15. Unplanned closures on both motorways may of course be needed if accidents or other emergencies should occur.
At other times, wherever feasible, cones are removed during short suspensions of work lasting more than a day. It is not usually practicable to remove and replace cones during shorter suspensions.