Second Severn
Page 5
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A SECOND SEVERN crossing is now almost certain to be built following an announcement by Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley this week that a feasibility study is to be set up.
Mr Ridley also announced that the Government is to go ahead with £33m repair programme to strengthen the bridge which could take five to six years to carry out.
Mr Ridley's announcements were generally welcomed by local MPs and by Opposition spokesman John Prescott.
Mr Ridley was careful not to commit himself to building a second crossing but his statement was widely regarded as making it clear that the Government will go ahead.
The study is expected to take two or three years to reach a conclusion, both about the desirability and about its form and its site.
The study team will look at the possible sites in the "general corridor" of the existing crossing with special reference to the convenience of links with the M4.
Mr Ridley also spelled out details of how the existing repair work would be carried out. He pledged that wherever possible the repairs would be carried out off-peak.
Once the repair work had been completed he was convinced the bridge would provide a "safe, ready and reliable" link between England and South Wales,