Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between junctions 12 and 14.

No work has been done to estimate the costs of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between Junctions 12 and 14 as this scheme is not within the first Road Investment Strategy (RIS). Highways England is working hard to deliver the schemes set out in the RIS in the first Road Period 2015-20.

Future investment in the strategic road network is currently being developed through Highways England’s Route Strategies process, which will be used to plan new investments in the second Road Period 2020-25.