§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the use of Whisper concrete on the M18 and A50 and its future use in road building. [16711]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways' Agency to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Tim Devlin, dated 27 February 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about the use of Whisper concrete.Trials of the concrete road surface, referred to as Whisper concrete, have been carried out on the M18 and A50. This surface differs from conventional concrete in that skid resistant aggregate is incorporated within the top layer and subsequently exposed to create a random texture. The objective is to provide both a safe and durable road surface but one less noisy than some conventional concrete roads.Preliminary assessment of the two trials is encouraging but evaluation of longer term performance is still continuing. It is hoped that a final assessment will be possible following this winter. Subject to performance proving satisfactory, consideration will then be given to permit wider use.