West Midlands motorway link road 'would take 19,000 cars and lorries off congested road' - if the Government funds it

Midlands Connect, a government-funded transport body, said a new link-road between Junction 11 of the M6 at Laney Green to Junction 1 of the M54, would lead to an 82 per cent drop in traffic along the A460 Cannock Road through Shareshill and Featherstone.

At present, Cannock Road carries approximately 23,000 vehicles each day, 28 per cent of which are freight vehicles. 

If the proposed link road was built, the number would plummet to just 4,000 a day, the organisation claimed.

The research also showed that the road suffered significant delays in both directions at peak times, particularly for traffic travelling northbound, the worst being northbound between the Laney Green Interchange and the junction with the M6 Toll road.

It found that during the morning rush hour, average speeds fell to 39 mph below the Strategic Road Network average, and were 37mph slower during peak time in the evening.

Plans for the £200 million link road were approved by the previous government in 2022. 

But the new Labour government said last year that £2.9 billion of commitments made by the previous Conservative administration were 'unfunded', and instructed the Department for Transport to carry out a spending review.

Midlands Connect has called on the new government to make the scheme a priority.

They have been backed by Sir Gavin Williamson, MP for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge, a long-standing supporter of a new link-road.

"This is desperately needed to ease congestion on the A460," he said.

"Residents in Featherstone and Shareshill continue to be short-changed and access is becoming increasingly difficult on local roads."

Sir Gavin said Midland Connect's figures demonstrated how congestion meant that residents had longer journey times to work, hitting productivity and creating further damage to the environment.

"The Government must stop dithering and listen to local people, the county council, and all other stakeholders who clearly demonstrate the urgent need for this link road."

Swati Mittal of Midlands Connect said a new link road would also remove more than a million cars and lorries off other roads in Staffordshire.

"This can only be good for air quality and residents if we can move those cars, snarled up in traffic away from homes and housing estates onto a new, improved linked road that is free flowing,,” he said.

Councillor Mark Deaville, cabinet member for highways at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The M54/M6 link will not only boost connectivity and economic growth in Staffordshire, it will also remove through traffic including HGVs from the road network in the south of the county.

“This blights local communities, through both increased congestion and reduced air quality."

He added that the county was well-connected, and a link road would help to attract future investment, as well as supporting residents in Featherstone, Shareshill and surrounding areas.