asked the Minister of Transport whether he can make any statement as to the present position of the proposal to build a new arterial road through Kent instead of continuing the building of by-passes to important towns on the London to Folkestone and London to Dover roads; and whether, in view of the fact that this problem is a major one, he will reconsider, in conjunction with the War Office, the whole problem from a different angle?

I do not contemplate the construction of a new arterial road through Kent such as my hon. and gallant Friend seems to have in mind. The improvements which I propose to carry out on the London-Folkestone-Dover trunk road will, in my opinion, bring that road up to a standard adequate for modern traffic. A by-pass to the Medway towns of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham is under consideration and a survey is now being carried out.