M4 Consultation Open To Public

Highways Agency seeks comments on draft strategy

The Highways Agency has published its Draft Strategy paper on the management of a sizeable stretch of the M4, and is inviting comments from drivers who use the road regularly, as well as from people who live or work beside it.

The section of the motorway involved is the 63-mile stretch from Junction 1 at Chiswick to the area between Junctions 14 and 15 west of Membury Services.

The Route Management Strategy scheme has been developed by the Highways Agency to manage individual trunk roads as part of the wider transport network. The study will lead to the production of a Route Management Strategy which will help the Highways Agency in planning and optimising investment in the M4 over a ten-year period.

This study gives all road users the opportunity to comment on where problems lie and where investment may be needed over the next ten years. It is hoped that feedback from a wide spectrum of users will be received so that improvements can be effectively prioritised.

This RMS is being undertaken in parallel with three multi-modal studies:

• ORBIT, covering orbital movements around London Thames Valley
• MMS, broadly looking at transport in the London to Reading corridor
• SWARMMS, the London to South West and South Wales Multi Modal Study

These three studies have overlapping boundaries with the M4 RMS, and this has given opportunities to share consultation. It was originally intended that the RMS would focus on lower level local issues with strategic issues being covered by the MMSs. However, from comments already received it became evident that it is not possible to divorce local from strategic issues on the M4, particularly in relation to the outcomes identified in the Government's 10-Year Plan for Transport.

April 6, 2004