Road use takes its toll

The UK’s second major stretch of toll road looks set to be built between Birmingham and Manchester following a consultation launched by the Government this week.

Latest News

• MG gives local workers 15% discount
• Citroen launches recall website
• New Audi A3 vs Merc A-Class, Volvo V40
• Renault Alpine concept car leaked

The UK’s second major stretch of toll road looks set to be built between Birmingham and Manchester following a consultation launched by the Government this week.

The Department for Transport wants a private company to build and run a new 51-mile, four-lane M6 expressway between junction 11a near Birmingham and junction 19 near Manchester.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, transport secretary Alistair Darling said building a new road would avoid disruption on the existing M6 and increase capacity in one of the busiest traffic corridors in the country, relieving congestion on all routes.

Following a positive assessment of the first stretch of M6 toll by the Highways Agency, Darling said: ‘It is now right to look at extending the tolled motorway as an alternative to widening the existing road.’

The Highways Agency study into the current M6 toll road reports that it is used by 40,000 vehicles a day, a fifth of all traffic through the region, and has significantly reduced journey times.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation said it was encouraging that the Government was now looking at radical solutions like a longer toll route, but added that money the Government was saving in not building the road itself should bring a reduction in road and petrol taxes.

The AA also backed the toll road and called for a reduction in motoring taxes. It also wants to see money raised by taxes on motorists to be exclusively spent on improving the UK's road network.

Darling also today confirmed that the Highways Agency will look into developing dedicated high-occupancy lanes for cars carrying two or more people. Using hard shoulders or newly built lanes, the Agency will assess the M62 between junctions 25 and 27, the M3 between two and three, the M1 between seven and 13 and the M61 between three and six.

A report on the feasibility of UK-wide road user charging will be published next week. Darling said a satellite-based system which tracked motorists around the country and charged them by mile was already possible but was unlikely to be introduced for the next 10 to 15 years.