§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of 41-tonne lorries on road bridges; and how many currently need to be strengthened. [3370]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesOf the 1,345 bridges on the trunk road network in Wales, 585 have been identified as requiring assessment, 424 have been assessed and 149 of these have been identified as requiring strengthening. The remaining 161 will be assessed, and all necessary strengthening programmed before 1 January 1999. Local authorities are responsible for bridges on non-trunk roads.