Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Background

M6 between Birmingham and Manchester is a strategic route that carries high volumes of heavy goods and other vehicles. Congestion and unreliable journey times are already being experienced at busy periods and traffic is predicted to continue to grow over time
The M6 meets a number of important high level needs:

• It is part of a Trans European Network of Roads (Route E5)
• It is part of the national motorway network making a major contribution to the UK economy
• It forms an integral part of the main transport corridor connecting the Midlands,  the North West of England, Scotland and Wales
• It is a major transport link for the movement of freight and other strategic traffic
• It facilitates the movement of holiday traffic and access to national events

Before 2008 proposals to widen M6 between Junction 11a and 19 were being considered. This followed earlier consideration between 2004 and 2006 of an M6 tolled Expressway.

In January 2009, the Secretary of State for Transport (Geoff Hoon) announced a Managed Motorway strategy and identified a number of Projects that would be progressed over the next few years. Whilst M6 Junction 10a-13 was announced as a scheme that would commence construction by 2015, the remainder from Junction 13 to 19, forms part of a longer-term strategy that is not expected to commence construction before 2015. 

The previous M6 Junction 11a to 19 widening scheme has now been abandoned. Information about the related M6 Junction 10a to 13 Managed Motorway scheme is available on the M6 Junction 10A - 13 Managed Motorway website. Information can also be found about other nearby managed motorway schemes on M6 through Birmingham by following the links: M6 Junctions 5 to 8 and M6 Junctions 8 to 10a.

The J13-19 Managed Motorway Projects

The January 2009 Secretary of State announcement did not provide detailed timescales for delivering hard shoulder running north of Junction 13, but this long section within Staffordshire and Cheshire can be expected to be separated out into a number of schemes in due course.

The intention with the managed motorway concept is that the need to acquire land would be minimised or avoided altogether.  However, the possibility remains that there could be a need to undertake some works outside the existing highway boundary at Junctions 15, 19 and possibly Junction 13 to facilitate some level of junction improvement. Detailed design work has not yet commenced to confirm this and the need for earlier consideration of junction issues will be considered in due course.