§ Sir Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of the M1 motorway are currently under repair or modification; what was the average weekly number of miles under repair throughout 1983; and when he anticipates the motorways will be relatively free of major roadworks.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThere are currently five major repair contracts, but no modification schemes in progress on the M1 motorway.
The contracts are phased to keep work lengths to a minimum and at any one time the contracts may affect a total of 12 route miles. During the 1983 maintenance season, the total of the lengths of M1 under repair at any one time varied from about 2 miles to about 17 miles, with the peak of activity in June.
All motorways suffer wear and tear over time and need regular maintenance to keep them in a safe condition. There will, therefore, be a continuing need for major repairs on the heavily-trafficked M1. I would, however, expect the present volume of work to be reduced when the current backlog of repairs has been eliminated.