§ Mr. KynochTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about progress on construction of trunk road schemes during 1993–94, and those schemes the Government propose to start in Scotland in the next three financial years.
§ Mr. LangExcellent progress is being maintained in the development of a safe, high-quality trunk road network providing benefits to the whole of Scotland. The schemes I am announcing today continue our policy towards the upgrading of those key routes on our core network of major economic importance to Scotland's future. I am particularly pleased that we have been able to keep up the momentum of our plans to dual the Al. The emphasis of major projects is directed towards achieving progress on:
- (1) the upgrading of the A74 to motorway;
- (2) the completion of the Central Scotland motorway/near motorway network; and
- (3) the upgrading of the A l.
Projects are currently being prepared to permit in the medium term:
- (1) completion of the M77/A77 motorway and near motorway link between Glasgow and Ayrshire;
- (2) completion of the M80 Glasgow—Stirling motorway;
- (3) completion of the M8 Edinburgh—Glasgow motorway;
- (4) completion of the M6 Carlisle—Glasgow motorway;
- (5) completion of the A 1 Edinburgh—Dunbar to near motorway standard and dualling schemes between Dunbar and the Border.
Feasibility and other studies are also being conducted on an M6–M8 fastlink and on complementary roads and transport provision around the firth of Forth.
This is an ambitious programme requiring substantial levels of investment. The Government see an increasing role for private sector finance and management skills and a number of projects are now at construction, being developed, or explored in line with the private finance initiative.
Significant progress has already been made. Seven major schemes, with a total value in excess of £100 million, were completed in 1993–94. The opening of the Brechin bypass in March this year completed the dualling of the strategically important A30 Edinburgh-PerthAberdeen route. The M8 St. James interchange, completed in August 1993, is the largest single "design and build" project to be built to date within the United Kingdom.
The schemes completed in 1993–94 were as follows:
563W
Cost £ million A74(M) Nether Abington and Elvanfoot 41 M8 St. James Interchange 17 A9 Broomhill to Logie Easter 7
Cost £ million A90 Brechin Bypass 12 A90 Tarbrax to Forfar 13 A92 Bankhead Interchange 4 A96 Bucksburn Diversion 7 In the course of 1993–94, 17 schemes with a cost of more than £3 million were either under way or started. These schemes represent an investment in excess of £370 million. The projects include eight schemes valued at more than £240 million to upgrade the A74 to motorway. About two thirds of the A74 upgrading will be open to traffic by spring 1995. Construction of the M8 NewbridgeEdinburgh city bypass scheme has also started. This will provide important relief to the network west of Edinburgh once the scheme is completed in 1995. Progress continues on the construction of the privately financed Skye bridge, scheduled to open in 1995.
I am now able to announce those major schemes with an estimated cost of over £3 million each which are expected to start between April 1994 and March 1997, as follows:
Route 1994–95 A74(M) Paddy's Rickle Bridge to Beattock (advance works) A1 Tranent to Haddington M77 Ayr road route A74(M) Ecclefechan to Eaglesfield phase II 1995–96 and 1996–97 A74(M) Paddy's Rickle Bridge to Beattock (main works) A74(M) Beattock to Cleuchbrae M8 Baillieston to Newhouse phase I M77 Fenwick to B764 (Floak) A68 Dalkeith advance works A1 Haddington to Dunbar A96 Kintore Bypass A9 Logie Easter to Garrick Bridge A830 Loch Nan Uamh to Polnish Bridge A828 Creagan Bridge These schemes have a total value of more than £300 million.
Our plans are, of course, subject to schemes satisfying the usual value for money criteria together with satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and the necessary preparatory work.
In addition to the major starts, funding for route action plans, road safety and other schemes is being maintained throughout the trunk road network. This will enable work improvements to be taken forward on the A76 Kilmarnock-Dumfries route and the A9 Perth-Thurso route and further good progress on the route action plans for the Al between Edinburgh and Newcastle; the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness; the A90 between Perth and Dundee; and the A7 from Hawick southwards.