North West roads improve from worst to second best in the country - according to Transport Focus

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Satisfaction with North West roads has improved massively in the past year - according to a major new study of users.

Every year the independent watchdog Transport Focus measures people’s experiences of driving on England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads managed by National Highways.

M6 motorway voted “worst” in 2023 - this is why This year more than 9,000 road users were spoken to about a range of aspects on their journey, including overall journey experience, journey time, surface quality, roadworks management and feelings of safety.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While overall the per centage of people satisfied with their journey has decreased (71 per cent from 73 in 2022-23), and the average delay in a 60 mile journey has increased by a minute, there is some good news.

The study has shown that the North West has improved its position in the rankings from joint bottom last year to second this year. The North West is the only region to show an increase in satisfaction with journey time compared to last year and, while satisfaction with the road surface has declined, the decrease is smaller than most other regions.

M6

Also, the M6, which was the poorest performing motorway last year, has improved its satisfaction rating - 71 per cent versus 66 per cent last year. It is now mid-table in the rankings. The report states: “While M6 journeys encountered considerably more roadworks than average with 41 per cent of drivers passing through roadworks versus 27 per cent for all roads, the proportion has reduced from 48 per cent last year. “Satisfaction with journey time is now similar to the average for all roads at 66 per cent versus 68 per cent for all roads.”

M6M6
M6 | Cheshire Police

How the data is used by National Highways

Transport Focus sais their data has been used by National Highways North West to better understand what makes people driving in its region satisfied or dissatisfied. It also helped the organisation understand the full impact of frequent major roadworks on busy sections of the North West’s network. The North West Customer Working Group and the regional management team used the insight to increase the focus on effective management of roadworks in its regional customer plan. History of the M6

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the UK. It was opened on December 5 1958 as the Preston by-pass, Britain’s first stretch of motorway.

The original road cost £3m to construct, the equivalent today of £65m. It carved its way through the lush Lancashire countryside, starting to the south of Bamber Bridge, going over the River Ribble at Samlesbury and up to Broughton.

It was described by the Ministry of Transport as a ‘guinea pig’ – the test bed for all the motorways that followed.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice