Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates he has made of the cost of (a) adding a third lane on the A1(M) north from Scotch Corner to Edinburgh, (b) dualling of the A66 on all single carriage sections between Middlesborough and Carlisle, (c) dualling of the A1 north through Northumberland, (d) extending the metro to Washington, through Gateshead and Whickham to Consett, to Durham, (e) building a new bridge over the Wear at Sunderland, (f) building a Durham bypass, (g) building an Allerdene bridge over the A1(M) at Low Fell and (h) introducing integrated Oyster-style ticketing across the North East region and across buses, metro and trains.

The Department has not completed recent cost estimates for the transport proposals referred to. However, in terms of the strategic road network, this Government has allocated funding for, and the Highways Agency has started construction on, upgrading the A1 between Leeming to Barton to motorway standard which will create a continuous motorway standard route from London to Newcastle (via M1/A1M). Construction has also recently started on the A1 Coal House to Metro Centre improvement scheme in Gateshead. In terms of future proposals for the strategic road network, the Department is currently undertaking specific feasibility studies to identify solutions to address notorious and long standing hot spots on our national road network, including studies on the A1 North of Newcastle and the A1 Newcastle/Gateshead Western bypass.

The detailed scope of work for these studies were published in April this year and are available from the Government’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-road-network-the-scope-of-6-feasibility-studies

The Government has committed to report progress on the studies at the time of the 2014 Autumn Statement.

In addition, as part of its investment planning process, the Highways Agency is developing route strategies for the entire strategic road network, including the A66. The route strategies will allow further consideration of the future investment proposals as part of the Department’s longer-term investment planning process.

In terms of the proposals for local transport improvements, responsibility for their development, including producing cost estimates, rests with the relevant local transport authority – in this instance, the North East Combined Authority.