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A13: Roundabout
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the double roundabout junction between the A13 and A130 trunk roads is safe and adequate for traffic flows; and, if not, whether they will replace it with a grade separated junction.[HL2293]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The junction at Sadlers Farm between the A13 and the A130 (neither of which is a trunk road at that point) is in the form of a ring roundabout, being five mini roundabouts around a large central roundabout. The current design was built by Essex County Council in 1988 to solve the problems of congestion at that time and for the foreseeable future.
Following a review of the transport problems in the south Essex area, Essex County Council considers that the junction now requires upgrading to allow for the greater volume of traffic which is using the junction since it was installed.
It is up to Essex County Council to submit, through the local transport plan process, details of a new design which has been appraised in accordance with government guidelines and which will deal with the current and forecast levels of traffic at the junction. This assessment will then be used by the Department for Transport to consider whether there is a case for funding the scheme.
A13: Litter
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they consider the amount of litter on the A13 trunk road between Dagenham and the junction with the A130 to be acceptable; and, if not, what action they propose to have it removed.[HL2294]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Cleansing of this section of the A13 is variously the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London, Thurrock Borough Council and Basildon Borough Council. The authorities are very aware of the poor impression made by litter, and maintain a regular programme to remove it.
Crossrail
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there is likely to be sufficient capacity on the proposed Crossrail scheme to add further branches to north-west London at a later date.[HL2113]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Cross-London Rail Links (CLRL) business case submitted in July 2003 would fully utilise the available capacity. I understand that CLRL considered but did not pursue a north-west London branch in developing this business case.
Railways: Virgin Rail Group
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the interim agreement entered into by the Strategic Rail Authority and Virgin Rail Group in July 2002 allows for the stringent evaluation procedure at the negotiation to fail to reach an agreement satisfactory to the taxpayer; and, if so, what would then be the result.[HL2235]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The interim agreement contemplates a conclusion of negotiations, whether successfully or otherwise. It does not prescribe what either party to the negotiations must do in such circumstances. The taxpayer's interests are protected through control of the budgets for both franchises. Depending upon the outcome of the negotiations and annual review of the budgets, it is possible that the interim agreements would remain in force until 2012, when both franchises expire, or that either or both franchises may come to an end earlier.
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