§ Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current average cost per mile of new motorway construction; and how this figure compares with five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago in historic and constant prices, respectively.
§ Mr. RidleyThe information requested is as follows:
Year Rural dual Rural dual Urban dual Urban dual 3-lane 2-lane 3-lane 2-lane £ million £ million £ million £ million 1964–65 Cash 0.6 0.5 2 2 Constant* — — — — 1969–70 Cash 1 1 2 3 Constant — — — — 1974–75 Cash 2 1 5 4 Constant 5 3 13 10 1979–80 Cash 3 2 7 5 Constant 4 3 9 6 1984–85† Cash 5 3 12 6 Constant 5 3 12 9 Constant prices at average 1982–83 prices, revalued using the roads output index. * Consistent indices for calculating constant prices for motorway building unavailable prior to 1974. † Provisional. Motorway construction costs per mile vary significantly depending on the standard and location of the road concerned. The figures in the table represent very broad average costs by type of motorway and do not reflect accurately the costs of building specific motorways at particular times. In addition to works expenditure, additional costs such as land acquisition may add between 20 and 30 per cent. to the costs of building motorways.