M6 Expressway rethink ordered

Government returns to drawing board on toll m/way

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 19 July 2005 / Loading comments

New road build avoids this

The Government has gone back to the drawing board on the M6 Expressway idea, and asked the Highways Agency to think again.

A planned two-lane tolled motorway between Birmingham and Manchester, it has encountered significant opposition from across the political spectrum. As a result, Further work to consider the feasibility and impact of the proposed M6 Expressway has been commissioned, according to Minister for Transport Stephen Ladyman.

The Expressway concept was proposed last July as an alternative to the planned widening of the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. The Government said it would provide a tolled two-lane expressway in both directions, as opposed to the widening of the existing motorway by one lane in each direction, but could cause less disruption to traffic during construction.

The Government said it was "clear that more road capacity is needed along this route" but that the issue is how best that capacity can be provided taking full account of the impact of construction - whether through a widening scheme or via an Expressway running broadly parallel to the existing route.

The Highways Agency will now undertake detailed development work on the Expressway concept and on widening so that a decision can be taken on the preferred way forward as soon as possible, and enable the additional capacity to be provided without delay, consistent with addressing the environmental concerns.

Stephen Ladyman said: "Having consulted on the idea of an Expressway, it is clear that there is no consensus. But the Expressway is at this stage only a concept, and more consideration needs to be given to the options before a decision can be made. I have therefore asked the Highways Agency to do further work on both options.

"I am clear that this very important route does need more capacity. By carrying out this further work, we will be able to look at the benefits and impacts of both schemes with a view to making a decision on a preferred option next year."

The Government said the expressway idea would take around a year longer to bring to public inquiry than the widening proposal, because of the need to appoint a concessionaire. This additional time would be made up during construction, because the expressway would be built alongside the existing motorway.

In contrast, widening the existing motorway would involve extensive traffic management during construction, which would lengthen the construction timescales by about a year. The DfT said its current best estimate is that work on the widening scheme could start on the ground in 2011 with the scheme opening to traffic in 2016; and that work on the expressway could start on the ground in 2012 with the scheme opening to traffic in 2016.