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.”

Related Content

  • June 24, 2016
    Green light for traffic signal performance
    A revamp of traffic light maintenance is helping to reduce congestion, save money and improve safety on Greater Manchester’s roads, according to the latest figures from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which is responsible for all 2,400 traffic signals across the region. These show that the number of incidents of traffic signal failure has steadily declined over the past three years. Between July 2015 and April 2016, there was an average of 413 signal fault faults per month. This is 24 per cent
  • October 23, 2023
    £150m boost for UK local bus services
    Money is part of reallocation of £36bn due to be spend on now-abandoned HS2
  • June 25, 2012
    Significant drop in Europe’s traffic congestion mirrors economic downturn
    Inrix, a leading international provider of traffic information and intelligent driver services, has released its latest traffic scorecard which shows that, among the 13 European nations analysed, the countries impacted the most by the European debt crisis mirror those with the largest drops in traffic congestion. Portugal (-49%), Ireland (-25%), Spain (-15%) and Italy (-12%) were among those with the largest declines last year. Despite being considered the strongest European economies, troubles across the E
  • April 24, 2017
    UK government publishes long-term plan to increase cycling and walking
    The UK government has published its US$1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) long-term plan to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys. The government wants cycling and walking to become the norm by 2040 and will target funding at innovative ways to encourage people onto a bike or to use their own two feet for shorter journeys. Plans include specific objectives to double cycling, reduce cycling accidents and increase the proportion of five to 10 year-olds walking to school to 55 per cent by 20