The government’s announcement of a new toll road to run alongside the existing M6 between Birmingham and Manchester has been broadly welcomed by traders in the area.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) also greeted the news positively, saying the M6 is so heavily congested that a new route would be hailed as good news by industry operating goods vehicles.
Steve Greenhalgh, transport manager of Manchester-based MDF mouldings manufacturer W Howard, said: “I hope cars are going to use the route and free up the M6.”
He said the company did not use the current M6 toll road, with delivery vehicles using other roads instead.
Tony Miles, commercial director of Manchester-based International Timber, said anything which distributed the company’s products to customers quicker and improved service levels was to be welcomed.
Mr Miles said many of the company’s delivery lorries left early in the morning and therefore did not have to pay the charge on the M6 toll road.
The FTA is calling for a “value for money” toll on the new road, unlike, it says, the £10 charge for lorries using the M6 toll road.
