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9 Dec 2002 : Column 34W—continued
Lane Rental Charges
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the pilot schemes testing lane rental
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charges in Middlesbrough and the London Borough of Camden will end; and when the conclusions will be published. [85489]
Mr. Jamieson: The pilots are scheduled to continue until March 2004. My Department has appointed consultants, Halcrow, to carry out a study monitoring the effect of the pilot schemes. I expect to receive their first report shortly and copies will be placed in the House Libraries in due course.
Local Transport Plan
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) kilometres of local roads, (b) bridges and (c) footways have been restored by local authorities using money in the Local Transport Plan settlement for capital maintenance work on local highways for (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03, (A) in total and (B) for each local authority. [86094]
Mr. Jamieson: Highway maintenance is funded from Revenue Support Grant as well as the Local Transport Plan settlement. It is not possible to identify works funded through either source separately.
Local road condition is monitored through the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey. The latest results for 2001 showed that there was a possibility that deterioration in their condition may have been arrested, but this could not be confirmed until the results of subsequent years were available.
From the data supplied through Local Transport Plan returns, 4,746 bridges on local roads required strengthening in 2000 and 4,504 in 2002.
Montford Bridge Junction
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Highways Agency has made of the safety of the junction between the A5 and the B4380 at Montford Bridge. [86529]
Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mr. Tim Matthews to Mr. Paul Marsden dated 9 December 2002:
- I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent question about the safety of the junction between the A5 and the B4380 at Montford Bridge.
- The Highways Agency shares the concerns of local people about the accidents that have occurred at this junction and we have instructed our Managing Agent for the A5, as a matter of urgency, to explore what measures might be used to improve safety in the short term.
- Montford Bridge was identified as a junction where safety is an issue in a Road Based Study completed in May. The study was commissioned by the Government Office for the West Midlands with the objective of making recommendations for addressing safety and congestion problems on the route between Shrewsbury and Chester. One of its recommendations is that a Route Management Strategy should be undertaken to support delivery of improvements to specific trouble spots, such as Montford Bridge.
- The Highways Agency, jointly with the National Assembly for Wales, have commissioned the Route Management Strategy study which is designed to develop a three year Action Plan and a ten year Route Management Plan for the A5/A483. It will further
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- analyse the accident locations identified in the Road Based Study, including Montford Bridge, to suggest solutions and recommend priorities.
- I hope this is helpful; we will ensure that you are kept informed of developments on all these fronts. If you would like more information, the Agency's Route Sponsor for this part of the A5, Liz Talbot, would be pleased to help. She can be contacted at jour offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8746.
Motorists (Mobile Phone Use)
Bob Russell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will report on the findings of the consultations into introducing legislation to regulate the use of hands-free telephones in motor vehicles; when he intends the legislation will take effect; and if he will make a statement. [86514]
Mr. Jamieson: Consultation on a proposal to prohibit the use of hand-held mobile phones when driving ended on 25 November 2002. Some 1,000 responses have been received and the Department is now considering these. An announcement on the results of consultation will be made as soon as possible.
Norwich Airport
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of the planned expansion of Norwich Airport. [85451]
Mr. Jamieson: XThe Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East)" main consultation document summarises in chapter 12, paragraphs 12.1–12.10, the analysis undertaken as part of the SERAS Study relating to Norwich Airport.
Further details of the appraisal of the impacts of, and constraints upon, development at Norwich Airport are reported in the XSmall Airports—Demand and Impact Appraisal" (August 2001) and XSmall Airports Optioneering" (January 2002) reports.
Copies of these documents have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Roads
Mr. Paul Marsden: To 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. Jamieson: We 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 Foster: To 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]
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Mr. Jamieson: Information 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:
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No information on other damage to highways has been collected centrally since 2000–01.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles used each of the roads built or operating using the design, build, finance and operate contracting method, in each month of operation; who the contractor was in each case; how much was paid under each contract; and if he will make a statement. [86099]
Mr. Jamieson: The table shows the traffic figures (in vehicle kilometres) for each financial year for each of my Department's design build finance and operate projects since these were opened to traffic. Providing figures for each month would be disproportionately expensive.
| 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 kilometres
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 A13 DBFO scheme is operated by CountyRoute (A130) 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.
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