§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of likely traffic flows in East Lancashire following completion of the Bingley bypass. [100044]
§ Mr. JamiesonI have asked the Chief Executive, Tim Matthews, of the Highways Agency to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Tim Matthews to Gordon Prentice dated 3 March 2003:
I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking what assessment has been made of likely traffic flows in East Lancashire following completion of the Bingley Bypass.An assessment was carried out ten years ago to calculate the movement in traffic patterns caused by a series of bypass and improvement schemes on the A650, A629 and A65 which were at that time in the National Roads Programme. This showed that the impact on the East Lancashire network would be small. Clearly this assessment was based on data that is now out of date. Following the 1997–98 Roads Review it was decided not to proceed with many of the schemes, but the A650 Bingley Relief Road scheme remained in the roads programme.I can confirm that no specific assessments have been carried out which looked at the impact of the completed A650 Bingley Relief Road scheme on traffic flows in East Lancashire.If you require any further information, please contact Peter Scally, the Highways Agency Project Manager for the A650 Bingley Relief Road scheme. He can be contacted on 0113 283 6488 or you can e-mail him at peter.scally@highways.gsi.gov.uk