§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his policy on encouraging the use of trenchless construction methods on existing roads. [85752]
§ Mr. JamiesonWe believe that it is vital to reduce the unnecessary disruption which works on roads cause to road users, and are taking a range of measures to achieve this. The use of trenchless techniques can help reduce this disruption, although there will be many occasions when—for technical reasons—these will not be suitable. My Department has recently set up a working party, involving representatives of local authorities and utility companies, to look at ways in which greater use can be made of trenchless techniques when works are carried out in the street.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to local authorities was of roads maintenance and repair in each financial year since 2000–01 in respect of(a) flood and (b) other damage (i) in total and (ii) for each local authority. [86109]
37W
§ Mr. JamiesonInformation on flood damage is not collected centrally on a regular basis. However, local highway authorities were asked in 2001 about the damage caused to highways by the severe flooding in the previous winter and spring. Their responses are shown in the table:
Flood damage to bridges and highways: Reported costs to local authorities as at 29 June 2001 £000 Reported flood damage Kent 7,060 Hampshire 6,531 North Yorkshire 3,275 Surrey 3,204 Devon 2,700 West Sussex 2,642 East Sussex 2,505 Gloucestershire 2,405 Wiltshire 2,365 Herefordshire 1,640 Northumberland 1,497 Shropshire 1,453 Hertfordshire 1,275 Oldham 1,199 Dorset 817 Telford/Wrekin 748 West Berkshire 557 Brighton and Hove 510 Durham 508 Redcar and Cleveland 430
Project Company Length of road (km) 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 M1-A1 Yorkshire Link Ltd. 30 — 640 676 716 A69 Road Link (A69) Ltd. 84 489 494 488 505 A19 Autolink Concessionaires (A19) Ltd. 118 — 1,565 1,611 1,637 A50 Connect (A50) Ltd. 57 — 675 731 793 M40 UK Highways M40 Ltd. 122 — 3,844 3,859 3,932 A1(M) Road Management Services (Peterborough) Ltd. 21 — 405 416 429 A417/A419 Road Management Services (Gloucester) Ltd. 52 544 574 582 604 A30/A35 Connect (A30/A35) Ltd. 102 — — 591 634 Note:
Figures are given in millions of vehicle kilometers
The following table shows the total payments made under my Department's design build finance and operate contracts.
Financial Year £ million 1998–99 105 1999–2000 119 2000–01 142 2001–02 130 The Al3 DBFO scheme is operated by CountyRoute (A 130) plc under a contract let by Essex county council. I am unable to advise on the detailed information requested as that is a matter between Essex county council and their contractor.