§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times in each of the last 10 years noise mitigation barriers have been(a) replaced, (b) repaired and (c) upgraded; and what has been the cost to his Department. [38303]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 23 July 1996:
141WThe Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question asking how many times in each of the last 10 years noise mitigation barriers have been (a) replaced, (b) repaired and (c) upgraded; and what has been the cost to his Department.The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money his Department has spent on noise mitigation barriers adjacent to motorways in each of the last 10 years. [38304]
§ Mr. WattsThe following amounts have been spent in the past two financial years.
- 1994–95: £437,000
- 1995–96: £6,116,000
Data for this previous eight years are not available without incurring a disproportionate cost to the Department.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what design standards currently exist for noise mitigation barriers adjacent to(a) motorways and (b) railway lines; [38299]
(2) what procedures currently exist for (a)checking whether noise mitigation barriers adjacent to (i) motorways and (ii) railway lines meet the required design standards and (b)ensuring that those barriers which are found not to meet the required design standards are improved to meet them; [38300]
(3) what assessment he has made of the site supervision and checking of structural calculations for noise mitigation barriers adjacent to (a) motorways and(b)railway lines. [38301]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member. Noise mitigation barriers adjacent to railway lines are a matter for Railtrack.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 23 July 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about noise mitigation barriers.Guidance on the design of environmental barriers which include noise mitigation barriers is provided in the HMSO publication Design of Roads and Bridges: Volume 10 Environmental Design. This includes advice on the structural options available, acoustic considerations and resistance to wind forces. Standards of material quality and workmanship for particular forms of barrier structure are prescribed in the HMSO publication Specification for Highway Works, which sets out the standard requirements for motorway and trunk road construction contracts. In addition, contracts may either provide a complete design or specify that barriers are to be provided by the contractor to meet certain criteria. In either case, it is usual for designs to be required to conform to the Agency's published guidance. When specialist proprietary products are offered by contractors, evidence of the basis of their design and of their performance to the prescribed standard is required.Noise mitigation barriers are prescribed in principle by location, length and height; various other characteristics may be provided for in particular contracts to prescribe quality and type of materials, structural form and acoustic properties. Some aspects of materials and functional properties are assessed prior to erection; others such as overall form, position and integrity are assessed during and after erection. For all procurement it is the contractor's responsibility to supervise the installation of barriers on site and to check their compliance with the contract under their quality assurance procedures. This supervision is backed up by arrangements which depend on the type of contract for vetting of proposals and inspection of their construction by the client's representative or the site agent.142WNoise mitigation barriers are routinely inspected and maintained as part of the highway infrastructure and defects are rectified as and when necessary. In designing the appropriate form of barrier, the maintenance requirements and expected life of the proposed system are taken into account. Planned maintenance includes for the replacement of barriers at an appropriate time, as indicated by inspection reports.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate whether the noise mitigation barriers between junctions 8 and 10 of the M25 meet the required design standards. [38302]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 23 July 1996:
As you know, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the noise mitigation barriers between junction 8 and 10 of the M25.The barriers already in place meet the relevant design standards; those still to be provided will also be built to the same standard.