Written question asked by David Kidney (Labour) on Monday, 28 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 16 July 2004. It was answered by David Jamieson (Labour) on Friday, 16 July 2004 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Dept for Transport

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost is of his proposal for widening the M6 motorway between junctions 11 and 20; for what reasons the proposal to widen the M6 motorway between Junctions 11 and 20 has not been entered in the Targeted Programme of Improvements. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the estimated cost is of his proposal for widening the M6 motorway between junctions 11 and 20; [181668] (2) for what reasons the proposal to widen the M6 motorway between Junctions 11 and 20 has not been entered in the Targeted Programme of Improvements. [181669] Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency has been carrying out further detailed work on a scheme to widen the M6 between junctions 11a and 19, following the announcement in December 2002, when the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed his support, in principle, for this scheme. The further work has taken longer than expected, due partly to the complexity of the associated traffic modelling. It is currently expected that this scheme will cost around £2 billion. However, the Secretary of State for Transport announced last week that he is considering building a new expressway to run parallel with the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester as an alternative to widening the existing M6. The Department for Transport issued a consultation paper "M6: giving motorists a choice", which invites views.

Secondary information