§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of bypasses built on trunk road schemes in each of the last 10 years, giving the annual expenditure by his Department on such schemes.
§ Mr. RidleyThe information requested is as follows:
Number of by-passes (including Relief Roads) completed Expenditure* £m (cash) 1975–76 23 107 1976–77 16 104 1977–78 11 71 1978–79 9 57 1979–80 7 70 1980–81 4 93 1981–82 7 106 1982–83 11 92 1983–84 7 73 1984–85 10 112 * These figures show total annual expenditure on the national road by-pass programme. In 1975–76 the 130 bypass schemes in the programme amounted to 26 per cent. of the forward national programme. This year the 170 schemes amount to 50 per cent.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of bypass approvals to trunk roads agreed by his Department in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. RidleyThe number of bypasses, including relief roads, added to the national road construction programme in England is as follows:
Number 1976–77 17 1977–78 — 1978–79 10 1979–80 — 1980–81 8 1981–82 15 1982–83 13 1983–84 15 1984–85 5 1985–86 *25 * To date. Other schemes in the programme, including M25, also have a bypassing effect, while many schemes relieve more than one community of through traffic.
517W
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many towns on trunk roads in the United Kingdom do not have bypasses; and what was the equivalent number in 1979.
§ Mr. RidleyIn May 1979 there were 503 town and village communities on national roads in England that did not have a bypass. That figure now stands at 391 communities, for which schemes to bypass 280 are already included in my forward construction programme. Responsibility for national roads elsewhere in the United Kingdom rests with my right hon. Friends.