M6 through North Staffordshire is ‘worst road in UK’

07/04/2023

Fed-up delivery drivers say the M6 through North Staffordshire is the worst road in the country. It’s a stretch which regularly sees delays whether down to collisions, breakdowns or roadworks.

That congestion was made even worse when the ‘Smart Motorway’ scheme was rolled out between Junctions 16 and 18 while a fourth lane was created. As reported by StokeonTrentLive ^[1] last year, a new lane and extra technology was added to the 17-mile stretch between Junction 13 and 15 at the Potteries – after four years of roadworks.

Now delivery drivers for electrics retailer AO have had their say on the best and worst roads in the UK. And clocking up more than 100,000 miles a day and covering 99 per cent of all UK post codes means they’re pretty well versed on the stretches they’re glad to see the back of.

READ: Mum fears council house could split in two as huge cracks appear ^[2]

The firm’s drivers put the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester on top in the five ‘worst roads’ alongside London’s M25 and A13. Meanwhile the M62 between Leeds and Manchester and the A19 from Newcastle to Doncaster also made the list.

When it comes to the top five best ones, there’s a couple in the list that North Staffordshire drivers may well be aware of. The list included the A55 North Wales Expressway – a well trodden one for Stokies on their way to places like Rhyl, Llandudno and Anglesey, A5 London to Holyhead – which passes through Staffordshire, along with the A9 Perth to Inverness in Scotland, the A39 in Cornwall and Devon’s A38.

The public were also asked with 2,000 people taking part in the survey. They put the M6 behind the M25 and also included the M4, A406 in London and the Peak District’s Snake Pass. Their favourite ones included the A591 through the Lake District, the A170 in the North Yorkshire Moors, the A28 in Cornwall, along with the A37 in Cheddar Gorge and the A82 between Glasgow and Fort William.

Long queues on the M6

Stretches like the M6 are expected to be extremely busy this Easter weekend. A survey of 2,400 UK drivers commissioned by the RAC suggested 2.7 million car journeys have been planned for Good Friday and Easter Sunday by drivers embarking on day trips or overnight stays. Saturday and Easter Monday are expected to be slightly less busy, with 2.3 million separate getaway trips on each day.

National Highways says they work hard to ‘keep traffic flowing’ on the M6. Frank Bird, senior network planner, told StokeonTrentLive: “Our road network carries a third of all traffic and around two-thirds of freight, with some sections of the network carrying more than 200,000 vehicles a day.

“We work hard to keep traffic flowing on the M6 and whenever there are incidents, we aim to get the road back open as safely and quickly as we can. We’d always advise motorists to plan their journeys before setting off.”

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “With many people keen to make the most of the double bank holiday this Easter weekend, we’re expecting the customary jams across parts of the road network to make this Good Friday a bad Friday for drivers, especially those who are planning on covering longer distances.

“Traffic volumes could be even higher if the sun chooses to make a welcome appearance. The South and West are the areas to watch as they’re home to some vital roads responsible for carrying vast numbers of people to the holiday destinations of the West Country. Our advice to anyone heading that way is to get on the road as early as possible on Good Friday, or travel on a different day entirely.”

Doctors’ strike at Royal Stoke will see ‘significant number’ of operations cancelled ^[4]

Medics hitting town centre streets to keep revellers out of over-stretched A&E ^[5]

Sexual predator jailed for 23 years after sickening ‘campaign of rape’^[6]

Life in limbo on estate being swallowed up by the earth ^[7]

Huge rise in complaints to Staffordshire Police is a good thing, commissioner says ^[8]