Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the proposed construction of eight new bridges on the M6 road in Cumbria is not being done in the same way as the bridge construction on the A1 at Wentbridge where there have been no road closures, especially at night, during the period of work.

The two bridge repair projects on the M6 and A1 are not comparable. The Lune Gorge project on the M6 in Cumbria involves the entire replacement of several bridge decks, including the demolition of the current bridge decks. This means for periods of time, there will be gaps in the motorway with no bridges in place, making road closures essential.

The bridge repairs on the A1 at Wentbridge involves working on the top of the structure to carry out work to replace parapets, joints, and resurfacing. Therefore, National Highways have been able to keep the road open with a contraflow system for the majority of the works, requiring a few over-night full closures to carry out work which would have posed a safety risk should the running lanes remained open to live traffic.