Trunk Roads Act 1936

1 Transfer of trunk roads to Minister of Transport.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the principal roads in Great Britain constituting the national system of routes for through traffic which by virtue of this Act become trunk roads shall be known by that name and as from the date upon which any road becomes a trunk road the Minister of Transport (hereinafter referred to as "the Minister") shall be the highway authority for the road.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the roads specified in the First Schedule to this Act shall by virtue of this Act become trunk roads as from the first day of April nineteen hundred and thirty-seven.

(3) If the Minister is satisfied that it is expedient to construct a new road or improve any road with a view to superseding any part of a trunk road by the creation of a new route for through traffic, he may after serving upon the council of every county within whose area the part of the trunk road to be superseded, or the route which is to supersede it, is situated, notice of his intention to do so, and, after considering any representation made by any such council within three months after service of the said notice, and after holding a local inquiry, if he thinks fit to do so or if a request therefor is made by any such council within the said three months and not withdrawn, make an order providing that—

(a) upon such date as may be specified in the order, the route which is to supersede the part of the trunk road shall, by virtue of this Act, become a trunk road; and

(b) upon the first day of April next following the date on which the Minister serves upon the councils aforesaid notice that the said route is ready to be used for the purposes of through traffic, the part of the trunk road to be so superseded as aforesaid shall become a county road.

(4) Where an order has been made under the last foregoing subsection, section thirty-two of the [19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 17.] Local Government Act, 1929 (which entitles the councils of certain boroughs and urban districts to claim the functions of maintenance and repair of county roads), shall have effect as if the part of the trunk road to be superseded as aforesaid had become a county road on the date of the making of the order, so, however, that any functions of maintenance and repair claimed under the said section in respect of the said part shall not be exercisable until the date on which it becomes a county road.

(5) Where at the date of the passing of this Act a road was being constructed or improved by a highway authority, or was being improved by an authority in the exercise of functions under section thirty-two of the Local Government Act, 1929, or plans for the construction or improvement of a road by such an authority had been approved by the Minister, then, if the Minister is satisfied that by reason of the construction or improvement any part of a road specified in the said First Schedule has been or will be superseded by the creation of a new route for through traffic, he may at any time before the first day of April nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, and after serving upon the authority notice of his intention to do so, by order make such modifications in the provisions of the said Schedule as may be necessary for the purpose of substituting for references therein to the part superseded, references to the route which has superseded or will supersede it.

(6) If it appears to the Minister that the description in the said First Schedule of any road is in any respect an incorrect or insufficiently clear description of the route for through traffic, he may, after consultation with the council of every county within which the part of the road affected is situated, by order make such modifications in the provisions of the said Schedule as may be necessary for correcting or clarifying the description of the route for through traffic:

Provided that no such order shall be made after the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine.