M6 Toll road ‘could open for free’ to ease congestion

The UK’s underused M6 toll road could be opened free to drivers stuck in congested traffic on the M6, it has been revealed. Toll road operators Midland Expressway have reportedly offered to clear the path to help relieve traffic jams on the M6 if the Government releases it from its commitment to part-finance the M54 link road. The company, a subsidiary of Australian company Macquarie Atlas Roads, has debts of £1.03 billion, which mature in 2015, and as part of its 50-year concession agreement would have to
June 27, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The UK’s underused 803 M6 Toll road could be opened free to drivers stuck in congested traffic on the M6, it has been revealed.

Toll road operators Midland Expressway have reportedly offered to clear the path to help relieve traffic jams on the M6 if the Government releases it from its commitment to part-finance the M54 link road.

The company, a subsidiary of Australian company 802 Macquarie Atlas Roads, has debts of £1.03 billion, which mature in 2015, and as part of its 50-year concession agreement would have to pay more than £100 million towards the costs of the M54 link road if the Government decides to proceed with it.

Midland Expressway has asked for funding to be scrapped in return for allowing cars and lorries stuck in tailbacks on the M6 to re-route to the 27-mile toll motorway.

Traffic numbers have fallen from a peak of 55,000 a day in 2006, to a daily average of 34,310 in January to March this year.
Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ranked: the world's most congested cities
    January 22, 2025
    Inrix data suggests billions of hours are lost worldwide, hampering economies
    Read More
  • Kapsch ‘opens the way’ to interoperability
    July 30, 2013
    Richard Turnock, chief technology officer of Kapsch TrafficCom North America explains what advantages its newly-opened TDM protocol can offer as a US-wide standard for tolling interoperability. The electronic tolling industry across the United States is evolving. Historically it was characterised by clusters of interoperability where a motorist may be able to use the same transponder across a large area, such as the 15-State E-ZPass system, or be confined to a single State system. Now, however, the industry
    Read More
  • Progress in talks on new Sydney toll road
    October 10, 2013
    Toll roads operator Transurban says it has made good progress in its talks with the New South Wales government on a US$2.5 billion tunnel proposal for Sydney's north. The proposed project would be a tolled motorway linking the M1 Pacific Motorway, formerly the F3 freeway, at Wahroonga to the M2 toll road at West Pennant Hills. The project involves the construction of new eight kilometre tunnel, which would be the longest tunnel of its kind in Australia. “We have made significant progress in our disc
    Read More
  • Texans would support toll interoperability
    September 12, 2014
    As transportation industry experts from around the world gather in Austin, Texas for the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, 14-17 September, infrastructure solutions firm HNTB Corporation announces the results of a new America THINKS tolling survey, including the public’s views on tolling in the State. According to the survey, close to three in four (73 per cent) Texans who regularly drive on roads or bridges with tolls are pleased with the value
    Read More

Highlighted Content