HC Deb 27 June 1995 vol 262 cc547-8W
Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is his Department's policy on restricting access to any motorway during episodes of traffic congestion; to which motorways this policy has been applied in practice in the last six months; and whether it is his intention to extend such a policy to the M25; [30657]

(2) what is his Department's policy on restricting access to the M5 during episodes of traffic congestion; on how many occasions restrictions have been necessary in the last six months; and if he will list the junction numbers of the entry points which have been closed on each of the last three occasions. [30658]

Mr. Watts

These are operational matters for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Meacher, dated 27 June 1995: The Minister for Railways and Roads, Mr. John Watts, has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking about policy on

Grade 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
CSO 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DCSO 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4
SPSO 11 11 14 12 11 14 16 15 17 20 22 20 18
PSO 45 40 41 41 44 31 28 31 53 82 86 87 93
SSO 56 59 59 62 66 53 52 57 71 81 80 69 70
HSO 60 55 57 50 47 50 49 53 60 65 61 53 50
SO 40 32 28 28 26 31 25 25 38 35 29 26 27
ASO 21 20 19 19 15 17 10 13 19 19 22 18 15
G5 7 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 8
G6 36 44 41 41 39 40 42 42 45 48 45 49 50
G7 35 34 34 32 32 32 36 36 36 33 35 36 32
SEO 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 315 308 306 296 293 282 271 285 352 395 392 373 368

Note:

CSO Chief Scientific Officer (now Home Civil Service (HCS) Grade 4).

DCSO Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (now HCS Grade 5).

SPSO Senior Principal Scientific Officer (now HCS Grade 6).

PSO Principal Scientific Officer (now HCS Grade 7).

SSO Senior Scientific Officer.

HSO Higher Scientific Officer.

SO Scientific Officer.

ASO Assistant Scientific Officer.

G5 Home Civil Service Grade 5.

G6 Home Civil Service Grade 6.

G7 Home Civil Service Grade 7.

SEO Senior Executive Officer.

restricting access to motorways during episodes of traffic congestion. My Department has no general policy of restricting access to motorways during episodes of traffic congestion. The police, who are responsible for the day to day operation of motorways, may control access from time to time, particularly to enable them to deal more effectively with the aftermath of accidents and incidents. A system of "ramp metering" as introduced on the southbound entry slip road to the M6 at junction 10 in 1986, and has since been extended to cover the northbound entry slips at junction 10, both entry slips at junction 9, and the southbound entry slips at junctions 5 and 7. Traffic signals control the rate at which traffic enters the motorway to smooth flows at peak periods. The southbound entry slip road at junction 16 on the M5 has been closed since mid-April because of major maintenance. It is due to reopen within the next two weeks. Appropriate diversion routes are in place.