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A446(M)

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A446(M)
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (35)
From:  Coleshill (SP214867)
To:  Shareshill (SJ952076)
Distance:  27 miles (43.5 km)
Meets:  M6, M42, A38, A453, A5, A461, A34, M6, A460, M54
Old route now:  M6 Toll/M600
Traditional Counties

Staffordshire • Warwickshire

Route outline (key)
A446(M) Coleshill – Wolverhampton
Junction List
Junc Northbound Southbound
- Start of Road M6, M42
- M42, A446, A4097 M42
- No Exit A446, A4091
- No Exit A38
- A446, A453 A446, A453
- A5, A38 A5, A38
- No Exit A5, A5127, A5148
- A5, A461 No Exit
- A5195 A5195
Services symbol.gif at interchange with A5195
- A5, A34, A460 A5, A34, A460
- M6 (North) M6 (North)
- M54, A460 Start of Road
Globe.png
For detailed information about this topic, see Pathetic Motorways
The M6 Toll (provisionally A446(M)) near Chasewater

A446(M) was the working number for the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, which was highly likely to become M6, but opened in 2003 as the M6 Toll.

History

The opening of the M5 and M6 Midland Links through the West Midlands conurbation in 1972 completed the final section of the main north-south motorways running along the western side of England. However the M6 was soon running at capacity and suffered frequent congestion. In the early 1980s it was decided a new road was needed to remove some of the traffic. Consultations were announced in 1984 with exhibitions showing the options of several routes.

The sections to the north and south of Bassetts Pole were treated separately.

Route options for the northern section

The northern section had a choice of five possible routes. Most of these routes also had variations at Brownhills where they would run near the A5 or Chasewater. Each route was appraised and ranked based on several factors. The results of the consultation favoured the green route running next to Chasewater so this was the option chosen to be developed despite its rather poor performance.

Route Houses within 300m Houses taken Businesses taken Schools taken Farmland taken (hectares) Disruption during construction Route length M6 to Bassetts Pole km Route length M54 to Bassetts Pole km Effectiveness in relieving M6 1984 cost (millions) Economic performance
Green 1630 85 3 1 121.8 9 most 25.8 28 6 102 9 worst
Green Chasewater 1030 40 3 0 138.7 5 25.9 28.1 6 93 8
Brown 1130 80 1 1 133.7 8 26.7 26.2 8 94 6
Brown Chasewater 610 35 1 0 141.7 5 27.5 27 9 least 89 7
Violet 1590 70 3 1 124.4 7 23.6 25.8 3 91 5
Violet Chasewater 990 25 3 0 139.6 3 23.7 25.9 3 84 4
Blue 1085 65 1 1 123.3 4 24.5 24 2 86 2
Blue Chasewater 570 20 1 0 142.5 1 least 25.3 24.8 5 80 3
Orange 1225 5 5 0 131.6 2 24 23.5 1 most 82 1 best

Route options for the southern section

South of Bassetts Pole there were just two possible routes. The red route upgrades the existing A38 and joins the M6 at the northwest side of J4a. The yellow route follows the A446 and joins the A42 at J9. The comparison of the routes for this section is more clear cut with the yellow option being far superior on almost all counts. It's therefore little surprise that the yellow route was chosen for this section.

Route Houses within 300m Houses taken Businesses taken Schools within 300m Farmland taken (hectares) Disruption during construction Route length Bassetts Pole to M6 km Effectiveness in relieving M6 1984 cost (millions) Economic performance
Red 260 5 1 3 26.5 more 16.9 less 30 worst
Yellow 55 3 0 2 64.6 less 15.8 more 29 best

With the routes of both sections selected a preferred route was announced in 1986. However in 1987 detailed plans were drawn up for all the routes including the alternatives suggesting they may not yet be out of the running.

1987 Route

the northern end of the route

This section is going to focus on the originally planned route which was based on the green option from the 1984 consultation with some changes to the junctions in the Brownhills area. For the finalised route, see the M6 Toll article.

The original plans was for an untolled motorway. As such, junctions were more standard roundabouts and the A38 Sutton Coldfield bypass was to be upgraded mostly online between a fork at Langley Mill and Weeford. In the Brownhills area, the route was different, running north of the A5 east of Wall Island, a short bit of online upgrade of the A5, using the passive provision for a flyover at Wall Island. These online upgrades meant junctions would be provided for the A453 at Bassetts Pole and A461 at Muckley Corner.

The northern end was also different, running further south to extend a bit further: to Featherstone on the M54 (this would have been part of the Western Orbital route). This would have meant no junction with the A460 at Wedges Mills.




A446(M)
Junctions
Related Pictures
View gallery (35)
M6 Toll, Sat. Oct. 13 2007 - Coppermine - 15531.jpgBirmingham Northern Relief Road Detailed Plan 1987 Part 2 of 10 - Coppermine - 14286.jpgBirmingham Northern Relief Road Detailed Plan 1987 Part 6 of 10 - Coppermine - 14282.jpgBNRR Orange Route.pngMinworth Island BNRR.png
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Unbuilt MotorwaysM4 Toll • M12 (Woodford - Brentford) • M12 (Woodford - Maplin) • M12 (Brentwood - -Chelmsford) • M13 • M17 • M19 • M31 • M58 • M59 • M60 • M62 RR • M64 • M81 • M82 • M83 • M100 • M272 • M601 • M650
A2(M) • A6(M) (West) • A6(M) (East) • A14(M) • A48(M) • A59(M) • A61(M) • A556(M) • A695(M)
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