Western Orbital is back on the cards
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by Guy Sheppard Controversial plans to complete an M25-style orbital route around Birmingham and the Black Country are back on the drawing board five years after being scrapped by the government.
Known as the Western Orbital, the new road would link the M42 and the M5 to the south of the conurbation with the M54 and the M6 to the north.
The scheme is being reexamined by a steering group set up to sort out traffic congestion in the region. However, a spokeswoman for
the Government Office for the West Midlands, which chairs the group, says a new motorway Is not being considered. "It would be a high grade road," she adds.
The link points are more or less fixed but otherwise the road would have to start from scratch."
The Western Orbital is one of a number of congestionbusting proposals under con sideration; they include upgrading rail links.
Mike Farmer, regional director of the Road Haulage Association. says: "We have always supported the principle of a decent western orbital road which, in a sense, would complete the strategic box around Birmingham. The M5M6 is the strategic road at the moment which can be disastrous for stuff coming from the South and heading up the M54 across Shropshire to Liverpool way."
The Western Orbital, which will be considered by regional planners next year, is likely to be fiercely opposed by residents and environmental pressure groups.
They will argue that a new road would worsen congestion by generating extra traffic.