Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect that closures of the M6 in Cumbria are having on traffic congestion in Kendal; and what plans they have to amend their scheme for the construction of bridges on the motorway to avoid diverting traffic through the town.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highway’s (NH) will always need to prioritise the safety of both road users and its work force. At times for the M6 Lune Gorge scheme, this will mean full motorway closures are needed between Junction 37 and 38 to allow high risk construction activities to take place. Due to the layout of this section of the network, the only suitable diversion route is via the M6 J36, A590, A591, through Kendal, A6 exiting at M6 J39. Diversion routes are planned in advance with local councils.
NH has reviewed traffic flow data on the M6 and will use over-night closures, when traffic is much less, in order to minimise the impact to both drivers and local communities.
For certain activities, such as bridge demolition, there will also need to be weekend closures. NH recognises the potential disruption these may cause and will look to minimise the use of them.
When a diversion route does need to be used, this will be communicated well in advance in order to reduce the impact on communities such as Kendal.
NH is planning to deploy innovative construction methods, such as particular types of cranes and rolling roadblocks, to reduce the number of full closures needed, and the diversion of traffic through Kendal.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, during the building of eight new bridges on the M6 in Cumbria, how many nights will (1) both carriageways be closed and (2) one carriageway be closed.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways are still determining the optimal construction methodology, which will consider how to minimise the number of closures for both or one carriageway. This includes consideration of various techniques, such as Enhanced Mobile Carriageway Closures, to employ short-term rolling roadblocks that could remove the need for some full overnight closures.
Until this work is complete, National Highways are unable to confirm the number of nights when either one or both carriageways will be closed. However, due to the need to replace several bridge decks in their entirety, full closures will be required to undertake work such as high-risk demolition activity.
National Highways will endeavour to minimise disruption to road users, including freight, and the local communities that live close to Lune Gorge, whilst ensuring safe and efficient delivery of the project.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the National Highways statement that the eight bridges that carry the M6 and A685 over the Lune Gorge in Cumbria are “rapidly reaching the end of their serviceable life” after more than 50 years of operation applies to (1) all bridges on UK motorways and trunk roads of a similar age, (2) only certain bridges, and if so which others, or (3) only the eight bridges in Cumbria, and if so, why have these bridges in particular reached the end of their serviceable life in this time period.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The eight bridges that carry the M6 and A685 over the Lune Gorge in Cumbria are not representative of all motorway and trunk road bridges of a similar age. The issue with these structures relates specifically to half-joint details which are more vulnerable to deterioration.
National Highways is responsible for 378 half-joint structures, the majority of which are over 50 years old and require bespoke management strategies in line with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. However, not all the 378 half joint structures will have the same level of deterioration as Lune Gorge and need the same level of renewal.
Around half of all National Highways’ bridges (4574 bridges) are 50 years old or over, however the condition of bridge structures is influenced by many factors. Whilst the age of the structure can be a one of them, other factors such as structural form, quality of construction, different materials, environmental exposure and traffic loading are often of greater significance in the deterioration of a structure. It is more likely that older assets will require significant renewals interventions, but not all of these could be described as rapidly reaching the end of their serviceable life and in need of replacement.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost of building eight new bridges on the M6 in Cumbria; and what are the proposed start and finish dates for the work.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways is currently working through the Detailed Design Phase of the M6 Lune Gorge structures project including consideration of construction methodologies. As such, the cost estimation process is not complete. The timescales for the main construction works are from Spring 2027 to Summer 2031, and preparatory work has started.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to night closures on the M6 in Cumbria for the construction of eight new bridges, how they intend to deal with the motorway users who enter service areas when the road is still open, but wish to leave after the 8pm closure.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For the planned Northbound total closures on the M6, once the carriageway is closed to traffic no vehicles will be able to enter Tebay services. Any vehicles remaining in the service area will be able to leave via the normal way.
For the planned Southbound total closure on the M6, for Tebay Services any remaining vehicles will be escorted onto the southbound carriageway into the contraflow and past the works activities under the control of the Traffic Safety Control Officer (TSCO). For Killington Lake Services, once the carriageway is closed, traffic will be unable to access the services, any vehicles remaining will be able to leave via the normal way.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the proposed construction of eight new bridges on the M6 road in Cumbria is not being done in the same way as the bridge construction on the A1 at Wentbridge where there have been no road closures, especially at night, during the period of work.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The two bridge repair projects on the M6 and A1 are not comparable. The Lune Gorge project on the M6 in Cumbria involves the entire replacement of several bridge decks, including the demolition of the current bridge decks. This means for periods of time, there will be gaps in the motorway with no bridges in place, making road closures essential.
The bridge repairs on the A1 at Wentbridge involves working on the top of the structure to carry out work to replace parapets, joints, and resurfacing. Therefore, National Highways have been able to keep the road open with a contraflow system for the majority of the works, requiring a few over-night full closures to carry out work which would have posed a safety risk should the running lanes remained open to live traffic.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the contract to build eight new bridges on the M6 road in Cumbria was offered to contractors other than Kier Highways; if not, why; and whether the matter is being reviewed by the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The contract for the works on the M6 bridges in Cumbria was not offered to any other contractor because the project was allocated to Kier Highways through the National Highways’ Regional Delivery Partnership Framework. To be an appointed supplier under this framework a competitive tendering process took place. I am not aware that this matter has been referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July (HL9485), what plans they have to undertake permanent repairs to the bridge on the A1 at Water Newton following the "temporary maintenance and technology works" referred to; and whether the repairs will require the reimposition of lane closures following their reopening on 12 September.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways has confirmed that detailed design work for the permanent repair will commence once the current project to realign the southbound carriageway has been completed.
Realignment work (temporary repair) started on 8 September 2025. Most of the work is scheduled to take place over several weekend closures between 12 September and 20 October 2025.
Lane closures on the southbound carriageway are not expected to be reimposed until the programme of permanent repairs commences, which is currently anticipated to be in late 2026. All traffic will remain subject to a temporary 40mph speed restriction until permanent repairs are complete. This measure is necessary as the newly realigned driving lanes will be narrower than the standard width.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July (HL9485), what caused the delay to the remedial work taking place on the A1 at Water Newton between the imposition of lane closures on 1 November 2024 and July 2025.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways has had to take into account and work within several engineering, environmental, and archaeological constraints. The nature of the required works at this location were both challenging and complex.
The constraints included the presence of numerous public utilities in the immediate area, including a large water main situated close to the carriageway and the existing culvert. The site also includes Billing Brook which runs beneath the A1 at Water Newton and flows into a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. Finally, the proximity of the nearby historic Roman town of Durobrivae which meant that archaeological factors have needed to be taken into account.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 16 July (HL9053), whether they will answer the question put.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Please refer to my answer to HL9053 published on 16 July. We encourage all Allies to meet their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitments.