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Testing the toll
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The time: 07:30hrs on Monday, 15 December.
The place: Warwick Services, M40 northbound.
The mission: To experience at first hand the journey around Birmingham on the first working day of the complete M6 Toll.
The opening of the Birmingham Northern Relief Road weren't exactly revealed via a brown envelope stuffed behind the cistern in the gents toilet at New Street Station. but it wasn't far off. In an elaborate game of Secret Squirrels, the schedule for the opening of the new toll road was revealed by e-mail on Thursday, 4 December — the only detail that wasn't included was the date of the opening. Then, at 15:00 on Monday, 8 December. came another e-mail saying that it would open 18 hours later.
Needless to say, the official ribbon cutting attracted much media coverage. What many media pundits failed to convey, however, was the small detail that the road would only open gradually, with full access from the motorways at either end not possible for another five days or so.
Rather than rush in half-cocked. CM decided to wait until the road was fully opened and compare the journey with the alternatives, the old M6 and the A-roads that closely follow the line of the new road.
The test
Three artics duly left Warwick services on the M40 heading for Stafford services on the M6. Lots were drawn over breakfast for who would take which route. Route 1 was the new M6 Toll; Route 2 was the current motorway network on the M42 and M6. Route 3 would avoid the entire Birmingham motorway ring by turning on to the A43 at M40/J15. then A4177, A446 and A38, following the AS from Weeford to M6/J12.We then swapped around so the trucks that hadn't used the M6 Toll did so on the return, the longer distance accounted for by the trip up the M6 to J15 to turn round.
For the two trucks taking the motorway routes north, the first sticking point came as soon as they joined the M42, as the roadworks preparing for the hard shoulder running experiment slowed them to speeds between 10-35mph. However, soon after the M6 split, things picked up again.
There was a bit of frustration for the Daf crew on the old M6 as they crawled past the giant M6To1l poster on Fort Dunlop too late to actually use it. However, shortly afterwards they reported that they had never seen the M6 so quiet at that time of day. Other than that amazing fact they didn't have much of a story to tell; the journey was only enlivened by the antics of an aeroplane towing an M6 Toll advert above the M6.
Quiet run
On the M6 Toll things were even quieterAlthough there were a fair number of cars and light vans, we encountered no trucks travelling our way and only met two, a car transporter and a French-registered lveco,coming the other way.
Given the light traffic there were no queues or delays at the toll plaza. Handing over of the two grubby fivers was relatively painless, with a receipt being offered by the cheery Brummie behind the counter. The final timing at Stafford showed the M6 Toll journey to have saved nine minutes.
Photo finish
Meanwhile the Volvo taking the A-roads also encountered light traffic, only getting held up a little by school traffic at Balsall Common. Using this route took just 20 minutes longer than the paid-for journey.
After a quick coffee break at Stafford the wagons began the return journey. This time the Daf and the Volvo took the toll, and they too encountered light traffic. The oncoming truck count was six, all foreign.
The Merc on the old M6 was delayed briefly as traffic slowed to have a look at the six police cars parked on the opposite hard shoulder near the RAC Control Centre but quickly regained speed. Even so. its crew was surprised that having been just behind the Volvo as it turned off the Mb onto the toll road, they pulled in behind it again when joining the M42 — a dead heat. •