'Midway' solution
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A MOM SCHEME to relieve motorway congestion in the West Midlands has been announced by the Department of Transport.
A northern relief route has been planned to run from Essington on the M6 to the Coleshill junction of the M6 or the M42. Seven possible routes have been suggested by the DTp.
This route, the northern orbital relief, is an alternative to adding an extra lane to each carriageway of the three-lane M6 from Spaghetti Junction (Gravely Hill interchange) to the M54, and to extend the M54 to the A5. It could be built between 1990 and 1993, provided there is an early endorsement of the plan.
Some idea of the scale of objection likely to come is that up to 90 homes and properties will need to be demolished to make way for the motorway, and another 1,650 homes will be affected.
District councils are likely to lead the opposition to the plan, but West Midlands, Staffordshire and Warwickshire County Councils and the British Road Federation have welcomed the plan.
According to Transport Minister Lynda Chalker, it will meet the region's traffic needs for the next 25 years, and will aid the economic growth and development of the West Midlands.
• The British Road Federation is supporting plans for a by-pass at Oswestry, Shropshire, and for associated improvements to the A5.