HC Deb 19 March 1997 vol 292 cc616-7W
Dr. Howells

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the deterioration of the M40; and if he will make a statement. [20477]

Mr. Watts

[holding answer 18 March]: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Dr. Kim Howells, dated 19 March 1997: The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about his assessment of the deterioration of the M40 motorway. As you may be aware, a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract under the Government's Private Finance Initiative has been awarded to UK Highways M40 Ltd for the operation and maintenance of the M40 from Junction 1 to Junction 15. The contract is 30 years and work began on 6 January 1997. The age and type of construction of individual sections of the M40 vary considerably and hence there are significant variations in the residual life of both pavement and surfacing. Prior to the DBFO contract the Agency's Agents responsible for maintaining the motorway undertook regular surveys of the structural and surface conditions of the road. They maintained the M40 in accordance with Highways Agency standards. All of the Agents records were made available to tenderers bidding for the DBFO contract. For the section between junctions 1A and 3 the contract requires that the road be widened from 3 lanes to 4 and this will inevitably necessitate substantial treatment of the existing carriageway. Part of the route between junctions 6 and 8 is in need of major maintenance and the DBFO contract stipulates that the existing concrete carriageway shall be overlaid with "black top" during the course of this year. The DBFO Contract requires that the contractor undertake routine inspections and structural assessments of the road and that they maintain the road to a high standard. This mechanism will ensure that the road will not deteriorate in the future as the penalty for failure to meet their obligations would be termination of the contract. I am confident that the M40 is not deteriorating and that with the current contract a high standard of maintenance is assured for the next thirty years.