Road Investment Strategy

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Stephen McPartland

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I hope the improvements that we have set out will bring improvement to the journey times of the people mentioned by my hon. Friend, but if he has specific problems in relation to his constituency or a specific route in his constituency, I would like to look at that, along with the highway authority in his area.

[Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)]

For over 30 years my constituents have been stuck in huge traffic jams on the two lanes between junctions 6 and 8 of the A1(M) at Stevenage. Today the Secretary of State announced a smart motorway scheme to introduce three lanes by using the hard shoulder. I thank my right hon. Friend for listening to the campaign from the local Members of Parliament. Does he realise what a massive boost this will give to Hertfordshire’s economy?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The operation of smart motorways and smart roads is encouraging. We are seeing roll-out. It is not a completely cost-free option. It is quite an expensive option, costing around £8 million a mile, but it leads to significant improvements.