Bedford (Road System) (Hansard, 29 November 1994)

§ Mr. Watts

[holding answers 28 November 1994]: These are operational matters for the Highways Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Laurie Haynes to Sir Trever Skeet, dated 29 November 1994: The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Questions about road schemes in Bedfordshire since these are operational matters for the Highways Agency. I will answer your questions in the order in which they appeared on the Order Papers for 22 and 23 November.

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22 November 1994 35. The inclusion in the national roads programme of a bypass for any town is not dependent solely upon the size of that urban area. When assessing the inclusion of a potential scheme the Department must have particular regard to the benefits to local people, the levels of strategic traffic that will be removed from the town and to the benefits that will accrue to the national roads network. The roads programme includes bypass schemes for several other towns around the country that are of a similar size to Bedford, including Hastings, Wigan, Gateshead and Carlisle. 36. The £38 million contract for the Bedford Southern Bypass, began in August this year and we expect the new road to open to traffic in Summer 1996. With regard to other parts of the full bypass, in April this year the Secretary of State for Transport announced the outcome of his Review of the roads programme which examined the relative merits, in terms of economic costs and benefits, environmental impact, and the contribution of trunk road schemes to the strategic network. The Review concluded that the proposals for Bedford are in the main sufficiently important to be taken forward but that there are other schemes nationally that are considered to require a higher priority. The A428–A421 element of the Bedford Western Bypass has been placed in the longer term category and will be developed by the Agency as the road programme rolls forward. A consortium of local development interests has however suggested that they could provide, at their own expense, a single carriageway link along the protected corridor for the bypass between the A428 and A421 as part of new development for which planning permission has been sought. Progress on the scheme would depend on the decisions on the planning application. As you are aware, a public inquiry to hear objections to the proposals for the Norse Road link element of the Bedford Southern Bypass has been arranged for January next year. Progress on the scheme beyond that stage would be dependent upon the inquiry Inspector's Report and the joint decision of the Secretaries of State for Transport and for the Environment. The Agency will progress these schemes as quickly as circumstances allow but their implementation is subject to the completion of the remaining statutory procedures and to the availability of resources. 37. The Agency is not able to calculate a figure for any financial loss incurred by Bedford because it does not yet have a Bypass. We can, however, give an estimate of the benefits which would accrue generally from its construction and the relief it provides to the existing road network. Our cost/benefit computer programme (COBA) is used to calculate a monetary figure, which compares the cost of a new road with travel benefits, such as journey time, vehicle operating costs, and reduction in accidents. The figures are calculated over a 30 year period and discounted. A strongly positive figure represents good value for money. For the Bedford Southern Bypass the benefits could be as much as +£82.7 million, for Bedford Western Bypass +£41.1 million and for the Norse Road Link +£13.0 million. I emphasise that these figures represent the benefit accruing globally, not just to the towns or villages bypassed. 38. Our forecasts suggest that traffic flows on the completed Bedford Southern Bypass will range between 17,000 to 23,000 vehicles (24 hour Average Annual Daily Traffic) along the length of the scheme. This information is taken from the latest traffic model that is being prepared for use at the Norse Road Link public inquiry. The Southern Bypass will include a full grade separated junction with the A6 trunk road south of the town in order to allow easy access for traffic between the two routes. From this point the existing A6 route through Bedford will be available for traffic travelling to and from the north. 39. In the past ten years £31,085,158 has been spent on trunk road schemes in northern Bedfordshire, £43,577,768 has been spent in the south of the County and £59,560,890 on the maintenance and on small improvements to the trunk road and motorway network covering Bedfordshire as a whole. In addition, we make allocations to the County for their major schemes. Recent examples are the A5065 Luton Dunstable Relief Road, the A507 Shefford, Clifton, 664W Henlow Bypass, the A422 Stagsden Bypass and the A507 Arlesey Stotfold Bypass. We also made significant contributions to the reconstruction of the County and Longholme Bridges at Bedford.

23 November 1994 35. By 24 November 1994, the Secretary of State for Transport had received 55 letters from local people, organisations and companies in response to the current "Getting Bedford Moving" campaign. A reply will be sent to all those who have written. 36. Traffic flows recorded on the three bridges in Bedford are:

(a) Newnham Bridge: 30,600
(b) Bedford Town Bridge: 27,600
(c) Prebend Street Bridge: 28,400

(All vehicles, Average Annual Daily Traffic 1993) 37. The average cost of constructing a mile of motorway is about £7.6 million per mile, excluding VAT and design costs at 1992 prices. Using price indices we have calculated the eqivalent cost 10 years ago to be about £6.6 million/mile and 20 years ago £2.11 million/mile.