Traffic Projections (Hansard, 16 December 1996)

§ Mr. Watts

I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 16 December 1996: The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent questions about the M62 and M65 motorways and the A59 trunk road. M62 Motorway You asked what projections the Department has made of Trans-Pennine traffic growth on the M62 over the next 20 years. Based on National Traffic Growth Forecasts which were last updated in 1989, the forecast annual traffic growth on the M62 over the next 20 years ranges between 31% and 44% for cars and from 45% to 72% for heavy goods vehicles. M65 Motorway You asked about the traffic capacity of the M65 and the current traffic volume. A measure of capacity is the Congestion Reference Flow (CRF), which is derived from a number of factors including carriageway width, vertical and horizontal alignment, and the proportion of HGVs. Regional maps with explanatory notes have been deposited in the House of Commons library (Vol 282, Columns 1100–1101) which describe the relationship between CRFs, congestion and capacity. The CRF of the M65 ranges from 80,000 on the two lane section between Junctions 9 and 10, to 125,000 vehicles per day on the section between Junctions 7 and 8. The existing traffic flows on the M65 range from 35,000 to 45,000 vehicles per day. A59 Between Clitheroe and Skipton You asked about the traffic capacity of the A59 between Clitheroe and Skipton and the current traffic volume. The Congestion Reference Flow (CRF) of the A59 between Clitheroe and Skipton is within the range 18,000 to 22,000 vehicles per day subject to the varying standard of the route. Existing traffic flows on the A59 are 10,000 vehicles per day at Clitheroe dropping to 6,000 between Gisburn and the Lancashire/North Yorkshire county boundary, and rising to 14,300 between the A56 and Skipton.