Second Severn crossing
Page 6
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THE GOVERNMENT is to go ahead with the feasibility study on a second Severn crossing. Submissions will have to be submitted by consultants by July and the study will be completed by 1986.
Having just recently ruled out a "barrage crossing" for the Severn, Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley has now included it in the terms of reference for the consultants.
The second crossing will require to be in the "general corridor" of the existing bridge and have convenient links with M4 and M5.
The study will look at various forms of crossing including a tunnel, bored and immersed, a bridge and a barrage carrying a road. The barrage will only be considered if other surveys unconnected with the crossing study show it to be worthwhile.
The study will take into account the cost of construction; maintenance; the effect of high cross-wind; accidents; breakdowns; and the effect of traffic delays.
When the Government announced last February that a study would be set up it gave the go-ahead for a £33m six-year repair programme for the bridge after engineering reports concluded that major work was required to ensure safety, (CM, February 11).