§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his Department's plans for improvements to the A I trunk road in East Lothian, giving the timetable, route and cost for dualling the sections between Bankton and Amisfield and onwards to Dunbar.
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§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 2 June 1992]: I am pleased to announce that the draft enabling orders and scheme for reclassifying, as a special road, the section of existing dual carriageway between old Craighall roundabout and Tranent and for extending the special road by dualling the A1 between Tranent and east of Haddington were published last Friday, 29 May 1992. A public exhibition of the proposals is being held locally from today until Thursday. The alignment of the route is defined in the draft instruments, copies of which have been deposited in several public buildings along the route for public inspection. The proposed route of the new road follows a line to the north of Gladsmuir and to the north of Haddington. The estimated cost of the scheme is £36 million.
Although the route proposed has been carefully selected the reaction to it may influence the timetable for concluding the necessary statutory procedures. As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 5 March 1992, subject to good progress with these procedures, development of the design should enable a start to works in the period 1993–94 to 1994–95 as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 5 March 1992.
Preparation work for the more easterly section from east of Haddington to Dunbar is also under way, following the published section by approximately 12 months. No decisions have yet been taken on a proposed alignment of that section.