Skip to main content

M6 should be priority for Government investment, drivers tell FTA

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been looking at stretches of the UK’s strategic road network that would most benefit from Government investment following the Chancellor’s commitment in his Autumn Statement to fund improvements to congestion hot spots. Philip Hammond said the Government would spend IS$1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) on improving England’s roads, including US$222 million (£220 million) on tackling congestion at pinch points and US$33 million (£27 million) on an expressway connecting Ox
December 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The 6983 Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been looking at stretches of the UK’s strategic road network that would most benefit from Government investment following the Chancellor’s commitment in his Autumn Statement to fund improvements to congestion hot spots.
 
Philip Hammond said the Government would spend IS$1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) on improving England’s roads, including US$222 million (£220 million) on tackling congestion at pinch points and US$33 million (£27 million) on an expressway connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge.
 
Road delays are a constant issue for FTA members who move goods throughout the UK. It costs around £1 a minute to run a 44-tonne truck so any hold-ups have a huge financial impact on operations.
 
FTA identified the M60 north of Manchester, the M25 to the west of London and the M6 north of Birmingham as three of the most highly congested roads and ran a Twitter poll asking drivers which they thought needed most attention. The M6 narrowly came out on top with 39% of the vote, with the M25 on 37 per cent and the M60 on 24 per cent.
 
Malcolm Bingham, FTA’s head of Road Network Management Policy, said: “Every motorist will have view on where the worst spots are on our strategic network and these figures for our poll show that there is a split opinion. It is therefore vital that we get the next programme of roads spending to address the concerns on congestion.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cleaner journeys as UK government commits funding to greener buses
    August 29, 2017
    Local authorities and bus companies in Bristol, York, Brighton, Surrey, Denbighshire and Wiltshire have been awarded funding under the UK government’s ‘Low emission bus scheme’ to help them buy 153 cleaner buses. The successful bidders will use the funding to buy new electric and gas buses, and to install stations to fuel or charge them. The government’s support for low emission buses is one part of a US$778 million (£600 million) package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles by 2020, plus U
  • UK motorway gets first ‘orange’ smart motorway emergency area
    July 17, 2017
    The first new-style smart motorway emergency area, where drivers can stop in an emergency, is being trialled on the M3 motorway in Surrey. Highways England is trialling the redesigned emergency area in response to public concern about smart motorways. It has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to help improve its visibility make it more obvious to drivers on smart motorways. It is also hoped that it will encourage drivers to only use them in emergency situations. The first of the new emerg
  • VW Passat world record: nearly 2,500kms on a single tank
    March 1, 2012
    A Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by a standard production passenger car on a single tank of fuel.
  • Toll performance exceeds expectations, improves travel times
    January 30, 2012
    Jean Harito, Attica Tollway Operations Authority and Steve Morello, Egis Projects describe how looking to exceed contractual obligations makes good operational and business sense. The Attica Tollway is a modern, 65km, access-controlled urban motorway with three lanes in each direction. It constitutes the ring road around the extensive metropolitan area of the Greek capital, Athens, and forms the backbone of the entire road network in the Attica region. By ensuring freeflow operating conditions, the Attica T