JOHN Hampton asks in his recent letter ‘Is road worth this devastation?’ (You Say, May 15).

I think the need for the road has been proved, the necessary legal requirements have been adhered to and the road is being built.

This is a fact of life that even Mr. Hampton must acknowlege.

However, I fail to see where the ‘wanton irreperable damage’ he talks about comes into it.

I wonder if he has ever taken the time to attend some of the exhibitions provided by the company constructing the road?

If he had he would have seen the plans, not only for the actual road, but for the landscaping that will be carried both during and after the road has been built.

He would have seen that thousands of trees are to be planted. He would have seen the areas where top soil currently removed is being stored.

He would have seen the plans to use the top soil to mould asthetic embankments and cuttings and would have seen the green bridges being constructed to enable farmers to continue to farm their land.

Come on Mr. Hampton! Yes, it looks like any building site does during construction, but let's not lose sight of the major benefits that the road will bring, not only to commuters but to the area as a whole.

R. Blyth Broadwey