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

  • New report reveals growth in UK’s logistics ‘Golden Triangle’
    July 10, 2012
    A new report published today reveals growth in the UK’s logistics ‘Golden Triangle’ in Northamptonshire and outlines plans for continued development of the area which is one of the UK’s leading logistics and transport hubs. The report, which included interviews with 200 UK logistics and transport businesses, was commissioned by Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP) to capture the current scale of the sector in the area, often referred to as the UK logistic industry’s ‘Golden Triangle’ due to the M1,
  • Major funding for UK’s low carbon automotive technology
    January 19, 2016
    Five new innovative projects to develop new low carbon and energy efficient technology in the automotive sector have been awarded US$107 million of joint UK government and industry funding. The measure, which is set to boost jobs and growth in the sector, was announced today by Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, on a visit to the Morgan Motor Company. The funding has been awarded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, a 10-year, US$1.4 billion joint partnership between Government and the automotive industry. T
  • Substantial savings from smarter street lighting
    February 25, 2015
    As authorities strive to reduce expenditure and carbon emissions, Colin Sowman looks at some of the smart ways of managing street lighting while containing costs and maintaining safety. Street lighting can account for 40% of an authority’s energy consumption. So, faced with the need to reduce outgoings, some authorities are looking for smart ways of managing street lighting or even turning off swathes of street lights in the small hours. Back in 2008 the E-street Initiative report concluded that authorities
  • New vision for London’s 21st century roads and streets
    July 11, 2013
    London’s Mayor’s Roads Task Force (RTF) has set out a bold new vision for the future of the city’s roads and streets to ensure the capital can cope with major population growth, support jobs and thousands of new homes, while remaining one of the most attractive, vibrant, accessible and competitive world cities. A range of proposals includes: roofing over arterial roads to create new surface space; changing the way goods and services are delivered, such as shifting HGVs and freight out of peak hours; embraci