The West Midlands is one of the most heavily congestion parts of the road network throughout the United Kingdom. ... It was decided in 1986 by the Secretary of State for Transport that the solution to this problem would be to build a relief road bypassing Birmingham to the North East, thus allowing through traffic to avoid the congested M6, M5 and M42 and move quickly through the West Midlands.
The M6 Toll at 27 miles long will link the M6 and M42 to the south of Birmingham with the M6 to the north of Birmingham, bypassing Birmingham itself in the route. The new toll motorway will leave the M6 at Junction 4 Coleshill, south-east of Birmingham and south of Sutton Coldfield, and rejoin at Junction 11A near Cannock to the north of Birmingham.
This project is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, being it a toll motorway; an idea that is completely fresh to us here, although we do already have toll bridges in operation. ... 5billion is lost through congestion alone and agree that the new road development of the M6 Toll will be a lifeline to the Midlands economy; to those companies already established within the region but will also serve to attract more businesses to the region. Most businesses in the region are in agreement that the M6 Toll will lead to a positive reduction in congestion on the M6 and also along other major trunk routes in the conurbation.
As a consequence of providing an alternative to the M6, the bulk of the released capacity would be taken up by traffic, which would otherwise remain on the non-motorway trunk routes in the region, some by up to 25%. ... The Department considered a number of alternative routes, including the possibility of widening the M6 through the West Midlands Conurbation. ...
Through analysing the different routes proposed it is quite clear to myself that the preferred route should have been The Orange Route as it would have caused the least destruction of homes, the length was the shortest thus resulting in less cost in construction, it was considered by many that with the route it took it would have been the most effective at relieving the problem of the congestion on the M6. ...
There are several viewpoints and attitudes that must be considered when looking at the development of the M6 Toll, from the different people and pressure groups involved in the planning processes. ... The Minister also supports the toll scheme due to the situation with the government being unable to support such a project and thus the private venture being the most appropriate and beneficial in the long-term future of the scheme. ... However, the AA do not support the road being a toll motorway holding the belief that the road user already pays enough through the road tax and do not believe they should again be used for using the roads through the Midlands and thus hold a level of scepticism to as what will be the success of the venture.
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