§ Mr. Amosasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his assessment of the role of the A69 in the economic prosperity of the north of England; when he expects to announce a date for the commencement of work to convert to dual carriageway the A69 west of Hexham to Carlisle; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWe fully appreciate the importance of the A69 to the northern region as a strategic east-west route linking the A1(M) to the M6 and Tyne and Wear to north-west England and western Scotland. It is for this reason that we have been proceeding with a series of improvements to the A69 in recent years, and the dualling of the section between Newcastle and Hexham will be completed shortly.
West of Hexham, traffic flows are much lighter — down to about 7,000 vehicles a day — and dualling cannot be justified. This stretch is being improved to a high single carriageway standard with short section of dual carriageway to facilitate overtaking. This will enable it to cope more than adequately with predicted increases in traffic over the next 15 to 20 years.