§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway has been completely closed during the last three years; if he will list the access point at which the vehicles have been diverted on each occasion; and if he will state the dates and the reasons for each closure.
§ Mrs. ChalkerDuring the past 3 years, there have been about 200 planned night closures of the M1's northbound carriageway associated with the M1 widening works between junctions 5 and 8. I am sending the hon. Member details of the dates and the junctions used for diversions.
Further north, the northbound carriageway has been closed on two occasions, during the nights of 20–21 February 1982 and 13–14 March 1982, to allow the replacement of the footbridge at Rothersthorpe service area. In addition, diversions have on occasions been set up by police under their emergency powers, but these have been of short duration and have not been recorded by the Department.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those areas of the M1 motorway in which road works have been carried out or are currently planned that have previously had work carried out during the previous five years.
§ Mrs. ChalkerIn respect of major roadworks on the M1 the information requested is as follows:
County with location and work involved
Bedfordshire—Junctions 11–13
Preliminary hard shoulder strengthening in 1979–80 to permit contraflow working. Hard shoulders subsequently overlayed* in 1981–83 in conjunction with strengthening of running lanes.
Bedfordshire—Junctions 12–13
Carriageway overlay* work carried out in 1981. Further overlay proposed for 1985 to increase structural strength.
Buckinghamshire—Junctions 14–15
Hard shoulders strengthened in 1979. Reconstruction of running lanes currently in progress, including further work to hard shoulders.
Northamptonshire—Buckinghamshire Boundary—Junction 15
Hard shoulders reconstructed and drainage improved in 1980. Small scheme in 1982 to overcome settlement problems. Reconstruction of carriageways proposed within next 2 years.
Northamptonshire—Junctions 15–16
Reconstruction work carried out in 1982. Later resurfaced because material supplied not in accordance with contract.
Northamptonshire—Junctions 16–18
224WExtensive patching in 1982. Reconstruction work planned for 1984. Leicestershire—Junctions 20–21
Material used in 1978 to resurface slow lanes found to be defective and replaced in 1981.
* Overlaying means adding a new layer (usually of bituminous material) to the existing surface of the road to restore and improve its strength. In addition, throughout the whole length of the motorway minor maintenance activities such as patching and joint sealing, too numerous or too minor to list, have taken place on the same lengths of motorway within the last five years.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied with the procedures for controlling the progress of and the expenditure upon maintenance and improvement of the M1 motorway.
§ Mrs. ChalkerYes.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost, expressed as a cost per mile, of improvement between junctions 14 and 16 of the M motorway during each of the last five years; and for what reasons any recently resurfaced stretch of this road has had to be replaced within less than two years.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe costs per mile of major renewal works on the M1 motorway between junctions 14 and 16 have been as follows:
Year Costs per mile £ million 1979–80 0.1 1980–81 0.3 1981–82 0.2 1982–83 0.3 1983–84 *0.6 * The treatment costs in 1983–84 include more extensive major structural works which will further extend the life of the motorway. Only one stretch of this section of road has required retreatment within two years. That was near junction 15 where some material which proved to be outside the contract specification had to be replaced at the contractor's expense.