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Dept for Transport

Answer

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents on the M1 have resulted in the A5 through (a) Dunstable and (b) Hockliffe being used as a relief road in the last three years, broken down by type of incident. [197454] Mr. Jamieson: The question cannot be answered in absolute terms from records held by the Highways Agency. The Highways Agency has agreed diversion routes in place for when the Ml in Bedfordshire is closed due to a major incident. However, police officers may, for operational reasons at the time of the incident, choose to depart from the designated diversion route. Drivers with local knowledge of the area may opt to use another route of their own choosing rather than follow the designated diversion route. In the period 1 January 2002 to 10 November 2004, the Highways Agency has records of 17 major incidents occurring on the Ml motorway in Bedfordshire between Junctions 9 (Markyate) and 13 (Bedford). In all of these recorded cases, a diversion route was put in place and traffic is likely to have been diverted along the A5 trunk road at Dunstable on 10 occasions. This is because the A5 High Street South at Dunstable is used as a designated diversion route. By contrast, however, it is less likely that the A5 through Hockliffe was used as a diversion route since the A5 at this location is not part of any designated diversion route.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c1852-3W;426 c1856-7W; 197454

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Closures Accidents Bedfordshire Motorways Road traffic control M1 A5

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk