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British roads can carry heavies, MPs told
Page 41
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• Mr Mervyn Law, chairman of the highways committee, British Road Federation, has expressed confidence in evidence before a Parliamentary Committee about the ability of the country's roads to stand up to the demands of heavier lorries.
Mr. Law was giving his views to the all-party MPs' Estimates Committee which was examining the motorways and trunk roads programme.
He said he was confident that the quality of motorways today was excellent and was probably of a higher standard than those of any other country. They needed to be because the traffic they had to carry was heavier than elsewhere.
"You think they will stand up to the goods vehicles of the future. the 40. 50. or 60-tonner?" asked Mr. William Hamling (Labour), chairman of the committee.
"I am sure they will with the necessary maintenance work which is essential in any case," replied Mr. Law.
"I am surprised at your saying that,commented Mr. Hamling. "What has shocked me many times is the number of times repairs have to be done on new motorways very shortly after they have been opened."
Mr. Law said the question was on roads being built today; surely lessons had been learned from the first motorways.
In a memorandum to the committee, the Federation regretted that it got the impression that the Ministry of Transport were moving towards the position of developing all-purpose trunk roads where it would be preferable to build motorways.
One of the advantages of motorways was that they relieved commercial traffic of the speed limit of 40 mph. While it might be felt that on high-standard all-purpose roads, the limit was neither rigorously observed nor enforced, it nevertheless existed, and the schedules of commercial vehicles' movements must take it into account.
(Sixth report from the Estimates Committee on Motorways and Trunk Roads, HMSO 45s.)