To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the daily average volume of traffic using the A26 road between Coleraine and Ballymoney is in Northern Ireland. (100821)

The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.

Letter from Dr. D M McKibbin, dated 15 January 2007:

You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a parliamentary question regarding what is the most recent average volume of vehicles per day using the A26 between Coleraine and Ballymoney. As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.

By way of background, I should explain that Roads Service collects traffic volume data by means of 270 automatic census points strategically located throughout the Northern Ireland road network. The information is recorded for one week in each quarter during the year and an annual average calculated. The results are published in Roads Service's annual Traffic and Travel Information Report, which presents the traffic volumes in a variety of formats for each site.

The latest data on the average daily number of vehicles using the A26 between Coleraine and Ballymena is shown in the following table.