Road Traffic: Halton

Derek Twigg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the north-west road network of a temporary closure of the Silver Jubilee bridge in Halton lasting (a) one week, (b) two weeks and (c) one month.

Paul Clark
The Department for Transport is not aware of any scheduled temporary closures of the bridge. The management of the Silver Jubilee bridge is a matter for Halton borough council.

However, as part of the Department’s value for money (VfM) assessment of a business case submitted by Halton borough council in 2006 for funding towards a major maintenance scheme on the Silver Jubilee bridge, we assessed the authority’s estimate of the effect of a permanent closure of the bridge against the proposed maintenance work. Temporary closures were not assessed.