Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of likely numbers of road users on the A595 in each of the next 10 years.

The A595 is a primary route and different sections of the road fall under the responsibility of either the Highways Agency or the local highway authority, Cumbria County Council.

The Department for Transport does not hold information on how many times the road which falls under Cumbria County Council’s responsibility has been closed to traffic due to (a) roadworks and (b) accidents in each of the last ten years. The attached table shows closures on the sections of the A595 which falls under the responsibility of the Highways Agency.

In addition, the following table provides data on reported personal injury road accidents on the entirety of the A595 by severity between 2004 and 2013. Data is not yet available for 2014.

The Department does not have an estimate of the number of road users expected to use the A595 in the next ten years.

As part of the Highways Agency Route Strategy investment planning process, the Agency published an evidence report for the North Pennines route strategy in April 2014. This took into account the details of the Cumbrian Strategic Economic Plan and any priorities identified through the Local Enterprise Partnership and by other stakeholders. The Highways Agency will continue to work with stakeholders as it finalises the North Pennines route strategy.