Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the programmes to upgrade the A75 route; what contracts are presently under construction; what contracts are to be awarded in 1996; and what support the European Union is giving to the A75 route. [5355]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonPreparations for major improvements at the Glen are in an advanced stage and we hope to determine in the near future a planned start date for construction. In addition, a number of works are being implemented through the on-going accident investigation and prevention system, either at specific sites where accidents have been recorded or through mini-route accident reduction plan studies of sections of the road where the accident rate is the highest. Minor junction improvements are also planned.
The A75 is included in the trans-European transport network—TENs. It forms part of the only road-related TENs priority project in the United Kingdom, the Ireland UK-Benelux road link. Support from the EU's TENs funds may be available, at a rate of 10 per cent. capital costs or 50 per cent. of feasibility studies. While road programmes are eligible under the current European structural fund objective 5b programme in Dumfries and Galloway, they must compete for the limited funds available in the programme.