Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

M25

12th March 2009 - Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the road widening projects on sections (a) 2, (b) 4 and (c) 5 of the M25. [261608]

Paul Clark: In January 2009 we published "Britain's Transport Infrastructure: Motorways and Major Trunk Roads". This confirmed that we expect to deliver improvements to M25 section 2 (between junctions 23-27) and M25 section 5 (between junctions 5-7) using hard shoulder running with construction work expected to commence within the period 2012 to 2015, subject to the availability of funding and completion of necessary statutory procedures.

Section 4 (between junctions 27-30) is included as a widening scheme within the M25 Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract currently in the final stages of negotiation. Subject to satisfactory conclusion of contract negotiations and funding arrangements it is expected that Section 4 widening will commence in July 2009 and complete before the Olympics in 2012.

12th March 2009 - Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the remaining sections of road identified for widening in the London Orbital Multi-Modal Study are planned to be widened via (a) conventional road widening and (b) hard shoulder running. [261609]

Paul Clark: Subject to the completion of contract negotiations and funding arrangements for the M25 DBFO procurement, we are planning to widen M25 section 1 (between junctions 16-23) and M25 section 4 (between junctions 27-30) as conventional road widening schemes. As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport announced in "Britain's Transport Infrastructure: Motorways and Major Trunk Roads" published on 15 January 2009, we expect to deliver improvements to M25 section 2 (between junctions 23-27) and M25 section 5 (between junctions 5-7) using hard shoulder running. Improvements to M25 section 3 (between junctions 1b-3) have been completed as a conventional widening scheme.

12th March 2009 - Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to award contracts for the next phase of the widening of the M25. [266463]

Paul Clark: The widening of the M25 between Junctions 16 to 23, and Junctions 27 to 30, is included in the scope of the M25 Design, Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract currently in the final stages of procurement.

It is expected that this contract will be awarded in late April 2009, subject to satisfactory completion of statutory processes and completion of the ongoing competition to raise finance for the project.

17 March 2009 - Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the cost of widening (a) junctions 16 to 23 and (b) junctions 27 to 30 of the M25; and how much of this sum he expects to come from the public purse. [261607]

Paul Clark: Both of these widening schemes form part of the M25 design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) contract that is currently in the final stages of negotiation. The latest estimates of the cost of these widening schemes are based on the tendered prices submitted by the preferred bidder, Connect Plus. However, these are commercially sensitive until the contract is awarded.

The last estimate, prior to receipt of tenders for the DBFO contract, was made in July 2007. At that time the cost of widening junctions 16 to 23 was estimated at £697 million and junctions 27 to 30 at £583 million.

As these works are being procured through a private finance initiative (PFI) contract it is planned that they will funded by borrowings from the private sector which are recovered from the Highways Agency out of availability payments over the life of the contract. These payments are subject to contractor performance. In light of current financial circumstances the Government may elect to lend to the project if insufficient private sector funds are available. However, this is not yet determined

25th March 2009 - Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on consultants in respect of proposals to widen stretches of the M25 in each of the last 11 years. [266462]

Paul Clark: The cost of consultants engaged on M25 widening schemes for each of the previous 11 years is set out as follows.

The above costs relate to consultancy work on the following activities:

• M25 J12-15 widening studies
• M25 J7-8 anti-clockwise widening
• M25 J8-10 widening
• M25 Orbit Multimodal Study
• M25 J12-15 Widening Preparation

Preparation of the M25 DBFO Contract, specifically:

• Traffic and Environmental Studies
• Illustrative Design
• Contract Preparation
• Environmental Statement Publication
• Public Exhibitions
• Contract negotiations

12 June 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on what date each cost increase for the M25 design, build, finance and operate widening project was approved by Ministers. [278624]

Chris Mole: Ministers approved an increase in the cost of the two widening schemes (between junctions 16 and 23, and between junctions 27 and 30) that form part of the M25 Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract, on 27 July 2007.

Ministers approved a maximum expected cost of the M25 DBFO Contract itself on 1 April 2009. The contract was awarded within this figure on 20 May 2009.

15 June 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what change was made to the cost-benefit ratio for the M25 design, build, finance and operate widening project following each increase in the cost of the project. [278625]

Chris Mole: A benefit cost ratio (BCR) of monetised impacts was determined for each of the two widening schemes (between Junctions 16 to 23, and Junctions 27 to 30) included within the M25 design, build, finance and operate contract.

The following table summarises the BCR figures at each ministerial approval stage. The method for calculating the BCR figures changed for scheme appraisals carried out since 2005-06 and the targeted programme of improvements figures are therefore not directly comparable with the later approvals.

15 June 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate was made of the cost of the proposed M25 widening scheme when (a) the decision was made to let the contract for that scheme through a private finance initiative scheme and (b) the contract for the widening scheme was signed off. [279348]

Chris Mole [holding answer 12 June 2009]: The approved estimate for widening the M25 between Junctions 16 and 23, and between Junctions 27 and 30 was £0.90 billion at the time these projects entered the Targeted Programme of Improvements in 2004.

The capital cost of these widening schemes was re-estimated and approved at £1.28 billion in July 2007. At this stage it had been agreed that the widening of the M25 between Junctions 16-23 and Junctions 27-30 schemes would be procured through the M25 design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) contract. The estimates did not include the cost of financing via the private finance initiative route.

The contract was awarded to Connect Plus on 20 May 2009 with total capital costs for the two widening sections of £1.02 billion. This represents the fixed price from Connect Plus for development and construction of the two sections being widened but excludes the cost of financing.

17 June 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the public sector comparator figure is for the M25 design, build, finance and operate widening project. [278571]

Chris Mole: The Public Sector Comparator is expressed in Net Present Value terms (NPV) in accordance with HMT guidance. The NPV for the M25 Design, Build, Finance and Operate Contract is £3.40 billion. The equivalent NPV figure for the Public Sector Comparator is £3.83 billion.

21 July 2009 - Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much of the budget allocated to the M25 private finance initiative project has not been spent to date. [289201]

Chris Mole: The M25 Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract awarded by the Highways Agency in May 2009 is worth a total of £6.2 billion. These costs will be incurred over the 30-year lifetime of the project.

During contract negotiations, the Government expressed a willingness to co-fund if necessary a proportion of the capital spending by the project consortium. In the event, no co-funding was necessary as all of the required funds were raised by the private sector.

M25: Repairs and Maintenance

20th April 2009 - Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's timetable is for work to widen stretches of the M25. [268991]

Paul Clark: The widening of the M25 between Junctions 16 to 23, and Junctions 27 to 30, is included in the scope of the M25 Design, Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract, currently in the final stages of procurement. Subject to satisfactory completion of statutory processes and completion of the ongoing competition to secure finance for the project, the widening works are planned to take place as follows:

Two further sections of the M25 are being considered by the Highways Agency as part of the Managed Motorways programme, where hard shoulder running is envisaged rather than widening.

The earliest dates for construction of these two sections are:

Roads: Accidents

13th May 2009 - Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road closures due to road traffic accidents there were in each local authority area in the South West in each of the last five years; and for how long the road or roads affected were closed in each case. [273760]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information held by the Highways Agency relating to road closures due to road traffic accidents, is not in the form requested. The Highways Agency and the Department for Transport do not keep data relating to road closures due to road traffic accidents on local roads, and therefore this information will need to be obtained from the local highway authorities.

The first table provides information about closures by police force area, for the motorway network in the South West over a five year period. The second table lists information by route for the All Purpose Trunk Road network in the South West, also over a five year period.

From the data held, the duration of closures ranged from five minutes to 23 hours 58 minutes.

The information available is for road traffic accidents where the police have requested Highways Agency involvement. No data is held for those occurrences where the police have dealt with an accident alone. Also, the data available for All Purpose Trunk Roads west of Exeter is from autumn 2006 onwards, and from July 2005 for other Highways Agency roads in the south west network.

Roads: Constructions

30 March 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what threshold of penalty points above which a contract may be cancelled was set for each Design, Build, Finance and Operate contract let by his Department since 1997; how many penalty points have been accrued against each such contract to date; and how many such contracts have been terminated as a result of the threshold having been breached. [267169]

Paul Clark [holding answer 26 March 2009]: The Highways Agency have let three Design, Build, Finance and Operate contracts since 1997, they are the A1 Darrington to Dishforth (A1DD), A249 Stockbury to Sheerness and the A13 Thames Gateway project which has been transferred to Transport for London.

The penalty point threshold for the A1 Darrington to Dishforth and A249 Stockbury to Sheerness Design, Build, Finance and Operate contracts is 100 penalty points or more in any one year. This leads to the Highways Agency having several options, one of which is termination of the contract.

The number of penalty points accrued against each contract to date is:

No contracts have been terminated as the thresholds giving rise to the option to terminate have never been exceeded.

30 March 2009 - Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that future Design, Build, Finance and Operate contracts do not include incentives to increase traffic flows as a means of increasing revenue for the successful bidder. [267168]

Paul Clark [holding answer 26 March 2009]: The shadow toll payment mechanism, which involved a usage element, has not been used on Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) schemes since 1996, when the first eight Highways Agency DBFO contracts were awarded. Details of the payment mechanisms in the DBFO contracts let after 1996 can be found on the Highways Agency website at:

http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/2992.aspx

The M25 DBFO project includes incentives for lane availability, to maintain the road to an appropriate standard and to maintain and improve journey time reliability.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

17th June 2009 Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many private finance initiative projects have been agreed by his Department in each of the last five years. [280387]

Chris Mole: The following table summarises the local authority private finance initiative projects agreed by the Department for Transport in the last five years:

Prior to receiving a full outline business case and granting conditional approval, the Department may grant provisional approval for a local authority project. There are currently four local authority PFI projects with provisional approvals:

• Mersey Crossing;
• Nottingham Express Tram extension;
• Hounslow highway maintenance; and
• Isle of Wight highway maintenance.

In addition, Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notices were issued for the following non-local authority projects, initiating procurement:

17th June 2009 - Andrew George: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2009, Official Report, columns 773-74W, on roads: accidents, what the combined duration of road closures on each trunk road referred to was (a) in the period July to December 2005, (b) in 2006, (c) in 2007, (d) in 2008 and (e) in the period January to June 2009. [279996]

Chris Mole: The table provides the combined duration of road closures due to road traffic accidents for each trunk road in each of the periods requested.

The information available is for road traffic accidents where the police have requested Highways Agency involvement. No data are held for those occurrences where the police have dealt with an accident alone. Also, the data available for all purpose trunk roads west of Exeter are from autumn 2006 onwards, and from July 2005 for other Highways Agency roads in the south west network.