§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will ensure that any connection road built between Elton and Longnewton ancillary to the proposed A66 grade separated junction is reserved for the use of buses only; [38924]
(2) if he will make a statement on the timing of the compulsory purchase orders for the construction of the A66 grade separated junction at Longnewton; [38923]
(3) when he expects construction work to commence on the A66 grade separated junction at Longnewton. [38922]
§ 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 23 July 1996:
As you know, the Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the A66 Long Newton Grade Separated Junction.Restricting the use of the link road between Elton and Long Newton to buses only was debated at length at the Public Inquiry in September 1995. The Independent Inspector concluded that the link road should be available to all traffic, including pedestrians. cyclists and equestrians. He did not accept that the predicted traffic flows through Elton, as a result of providing the link road, would be untoward. The Secretaries of State for the Environment and Transport fully accepted the Inspector's conclusions and recommendations in their decision letter of 1 July.The detailed design of the scheme and the making of the compulsory Purchase Order will be commenced in the near future to allow works to start as soon as financial resources become available.