§ 30. Mr. McKelveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the roads programme in Ayrshire.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMany improvements are planned to both trunk and local roads in Ayrshire. So far as the trunk road programme is concerned, the upgrading of the A77 between Glasgow and Ayr to motorway or near motorway standard is one of the Government's top priorities. The programme of improvement of local roads within Ayrshire is a matter for Strathclyde regional council, as the local roads authority, to determine. Work is under way on the local authority's section of the Ayr road route between the existing M77 and the Glasgow city boundary. Work on the trunk road section immediately to the south is planned to allow the two sections to open at the same time. The first of the two schemes to upgrade the remainder of the route has been announced for a start in the next three years.
The Government are also pursuing a programme of smaller schemes on other routes within Ayrshire to ensure that they can continue to provide safe and reliable links to the A77 and other strategic trunk roads.