A40 (Hansard, 31 January 2000)

§ Mr. Gill
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to reinstate improvements to the A40 in London in the roads programme. [106315]

§ Mr. Hill
In September 1998 we announced a three stage strategy involving local improvements at Western Circus, Gypsy Corner and the replacement of the narrow400W railway bridges and widening between Gypsy Corner and Western Circus to bring the road up to a consistent dual three lane standard. The work at Western Circus has been completed at Gypsy Corner is planned for later this year. Design work has started on the third stage and it is anticipated that this would start in about 2002. A decision on the start date for this project will be for Transport for London. There are no plans to reinstate the major schemes at Gypsy Corner and Western Circus which were cancelled in 1997.

§ Mr. Gill
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what nugatory costs were incurred in relation to the cancelled improvement of the A40 in London. [106314]

§ Mr. Hill
The majority of the £27 million costs incurred for the cancelled schemes have been in acquiring land and properties over a long period and much of this will be recovered from its resale. Outline planning permission is being sought from the local authorities for its development following which the sale will take place. All other purchased properties which were not demolished have been or are about to be sold.

§ Mr. Gill
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if land and buildings purchased for the purpose of improving the A40 in London will be retained. [106316]

§ Mr. Hill
Nearly all the land purchased for the cancelled scheme is to be sold. Some will be retained to enable the narrow bridges to be replaced.

§ Mr. Gill
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effect of traffic jams on the A40 in West London upon(a) quality of life of adjoining residents, (b) pollution levels, (c) additional fuel consumption and (d) the cost to businesses and individuals. [106317]

§ Mr. Hill
The three stage improvement programme announced in September 1998 addresses all these concerns. The completion of the first stage at Western Circus has already brought benefits of improved traffic flows, particularly eastbound into London. It has also provided safer and pleasant conditions for local residents with improved pedestrian facilities and by the closure of some local roads onto the A40 to prevent rat-running.

§ Mr. Gill
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the year on year increase in traffic holdups on the A40 in West London. [106318]

§ Mr. Hill
The Highways Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State, monitors traffic flows on all trunk roads throughout the network, including the A40 in West London.
Westbound queues on the A40 in Acton have not changed significantly in the last decade, while eastbound queues have reduced significantly as a result of the improvements recently completed at Western Circus. The improvements planned at Gypsy Corner this year and the bridge replacements in 2002 will further improve traffic flow at this location.