§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the reasons why the M56 has worn out and needs to be comprehensively relaid at its junction with the M53.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 17 June 1991]: Because the amount of traffic using it—now 68,000 vehicles every day, with 20 per cent. of them heavy goods vehicles—proved to be far higher than forecast when the motorway was designed in the 1970s. The road surface is being replaced to new higher standards.