Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2014 to Question 210740, what estimate the Highways Authority has made of the date at which the surface of the M20 between Junctions eight and nine will come to the end of its serviceable life; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
The Highways Agency maintains databases containing indicative “end of life” dates for different types of asset. For carriageway assets, these dates may change for reasons such as the level of use, severe weather and damage from incidents. Concrete surfaces such as those on the M20 between junctions 8 and 9 have an indicative design life of approximately 40 years. This section was laid in 1991; therefore the indicative end of life is around 2031. However, as the current need for retexturing some short stretches of the M20 between junction 9 and 8 indicates, it may be that end of life will arrive before 2031. The Highways Agency will continue to monitor the M20 and as appropriate will bring forward partial or complete resurfacing schemes using modern quieter surfacing.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to include any noise reducing measures to the imminent resurfacing of the M20 between junctions eight and nine; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
The forthcoming scheme between junctions 8 and 9 of the M20 is to retexture the existing concrete carriageway, rather than resurface. The concrete on this stretch of road has worn down and become smoother over time and so there is a need to install grooves to improve skid resistance, to increase safety for road users. The Highways Agency will resurface this stretch at the end of its serviceable life with a material that has lower noise generating properties.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many foreign HGV lorries entered the UK in the last period for which figures are available; and how much revenue has been raised through the HGV Road Levy User since its introduction.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In the 12 month period ending June 2014, 1.79 million foreign registered road goods vehicles travelled from Great Britain to mainland Europe. This was a 15 per cent increase on the previous 12 month period. Statistics are available for outward traffic only to minimise reporting burdens as inbound data would be so similar.
The HGV Road User Levy was introduced on 1 April 2014 for goods vehicles over 12 tonnes. After five calendar months to 31 August 2014, £20.1m revenue had been collected through the foreign operator payment system from vehicles registered in 80 different countries. This revenue came from the purchase of 752,000 levies ranging from daily to annual time restrictions. In Great Britain, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have issued 978 fixed penalty notices for £295k to vehicles from 44 different countries and indicate a compliance rate of over 95% from vehicles stopped.