§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to commence the upgrading of the primary route road signs within the M25; and what projections he has made as to the cost of the programme. [8419]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 13 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your question on what estimate he has made of the percentage of road signs which need replacement or repair on the United Kingdom primary route network.The Highways Agency is responsible for the trunk road network in England. We do not have an estimate at any one time of the number of signs needing repair or replacement for the reasons explained below.Under the requirements of our Code of Practice for Routine Maintenance our maintenance agents (currently over 80 in number) carry out regular inspections of the highway infrastructure including signing and record defects. These defects will be assessed and a prioritised programme of treatments developed. The agents will attempt to coordinate the programme of treatments for small items such as road signs with other works to secure economies of scale and reduce disruption on the network.365WFrom these investigations our agents will produce a rolling programme of works contracts in the form of both maintenance and improvements to effect any necessary restoration of sign quality. On a network of some 6,500 miles these programmes will be updated very regularly. I can say that our budget over the last 5 years for all road sign and road marking maintenance, but not improvement, has varied between about £10m and £16m per year.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the condition of road signs in the United Kingdom for which his Department has responsibility; [8417]
(2) what representations he has received in the last year on poor and inadequate road signing in the United Kingdom for which his Department has responsibility. [8421]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 13 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your questions on the condition of road signs on trunk roads in England and representations received in the last year on poor and inadequate road signing.Signs on the Trunk Road network in England are provided to high standards set out in our Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and proactively maintained to similarly high levels defined in our Code of Practice for Routine Maintenance. In general the condition of our signs is good, they play a full part in the delivery of a safe and efficient network. Safety is always the Agency's foremost consideration and even though funds are limited our maintenance and improvement programmes afford safety measures the highest priority.Representations about the condition or adequacy of signs may be made to the Agency or directly to our maintenance agents. These are varied and cover both general and local issues. The total number of representations to the Agency this year on all signing matters is approaching some 200, but the number cannot be confirmed precisely at short notice. All of them are investigated promptly and acted upon as necessary. Issues shown to relate to safety are given immediate attention, other longer term measures are prioritised according to wider programme and funding considerations.