New minister again rules out dualling

Jun 29 2009 by William Green, The Journal

TRANSPORT Minister Sadiq Khan has rejected dualling the A1 through Northumberland just weeks after getting his new job.

Any hopes that the new minister might listen to calls from business chiefs, safety campaigners and MPs to upgrade remaining single-carriageway stretches of the A1 between Newcastle and Scotland were dashed in the House of Commons.

Mr Sadiq’s rejection came after Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland challenged the new transport minister about the future of the A1. But Mr Sadiq followed the line set by his predecessors, who have said the road is not busy enough to justify dualling.

Mr Clelland asked him: “I wonder whether ministers have yet had the opportunity to speak to their counterparts in Holyrood (the Scottish Government) about the importance of the A1 between Newcastle and Edinburgh to communities on both sides of the border, not least given its appalling safety record.”

Mr Clelland, who sits on the Commons transport committee, added: “Does the minister agree that the regional funding allocation system is totally inadequate to deal with the urgent need to upgrade that road?

“Will he enter into discussions about bringing about a definitive plan to finance and implement urgently the dualling of the road from Newcastle to Edinburgh?”

Mr Clelland’s comments come after the RAC Foundation attacked the management of Britain’s road network.

In the North East, there are widespread concerns that upgrades to the A1 have been held back because of insufficient funding for regional transport allocations.

AA president Edmund King last week called for “missing links” in the national road network to be filled.

“If you look at the A1 north of Newcastle up to Scotland, you have still got a single carriageway, that is incredibly dangerous… the best thing we could do is dual it,” he told MPs.

But Mr Khan rejected such warnings, saying: “The requirements for being categorised as a road of national importance are based on the amount and type of traffic flow on the road, and take into consideration whether traffic is redirected on to other routes.

“The case for the A1 north of Newcastle is not robust enough for us to consider re-categorisation, but I am happy to meet my honourable friend to discuss this matter, because I know it is of real concern to his constituents.”