asked the Minister of Transport what is his Department's latest estimate of the cost of completing the M25 (a) as a dual two non-motorway standard road with no hard shoulders and junctions at grade and (b) as a dual two motorway with grade-separated junctions reduced to match the reduced capacity of the road.

No such estimates have been made. A road of design (a) would be quite inadequate to carry even the existing traffic. A dual two-lane motorway might serve briefly on certain sections, but the cost and disruption of early widening would exceed any possible savings on initial cost. In any event, much of the road is completed, under construction or at an advanced stage of preparation at appropriate standards. For the remaining sections, the proposed standards are open to examination at public inquiries into the outstanding orders.