Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, today attended the official ceremony to mark the first phase of opening for the M6 Toll.

After a ribbon cutting ceremony at the mainline 10-lane toll plaza at Weeford Park, the Secretary of State then officially raised the barriers on Britain’s first tolled motorway. The first vehicles joined the road from local side roads as part of a phased opening process, expected to take up to five days, that has been agreed between Midland Expressway Limited (MEL), the Highways Agency and Central Motorway Police Group. With safety the major priority, the opening process is designed to limit traffic over the initial stages and was reflected by the small number of vehicles on the road.

Commenting on the opening, Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling, said: “The M6 Toll gives motorists an important new choice when driving through Birmingham. Together with jam-busting measures being introduced on the M42, the upgrade of the West Coast Mainline, and our decision to widen the M6 from Birmingham to Manchester - this is yet another significant boost for the strategically important West Midlands transport corridor.

“The existing M6 carries over 160,000 people through Spaghetti Junction every day - the M6 Toll provides an alternative for motorists and will ease congestion. Midland Expressway should be congratulated for opening this new road a month ahead of schedule.”

Tom Fanning, Managing Director of Midland Expressway, the company responsible for the design, construction and operation of the M6 Toll Road, commented: “We’re pleased to be able to deliver an early Christmas present to motorists and business of reduced stress and shorter journeys. There will now be a free-flowing alternative to the M6 in the busy pre-Christmas period.

“The phased process began today and we expect the road to be fully open within five days. For most of this period the road remains essentially a local road, so traffic numbers will be small. With safety a priority, this is the way we’ve planned it. The opening process deliberately restricts traffic numbers in the first few days as it’s the safest way of introducing motorists to a completely new high-speed route.”

Stephen Allen, Chief Executive Officer, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, the main shareholder in Midland Expressway commented: “The M6 Toll has been delivered ahead of time and on budget. We look forward to providing a free-flowing alternative to the M6, delivering time savings to motorists and businesses over the next 50 years.”

The phased opening will operate as follows:

Tuesday December 9th - 10.00am – intermediate junctions open from 10am

Junctions will open in the following order for traffic heading south.

• T7 entry (Churchbridge – A5/A34/A460)

• T6 exit & entry (Burntwood – A5 link)

• T5 exit (Shenstone to A5148 (A38))

• T4 exit & entry (Weeford Junction – A5/A38)

• T3 exit & entry (Langley Mill South/North – A38)

• T2 exit (Belfry – A446/A4091)

• M42 Jn.8 merge and diverge (M42 south with M6 Toll south)

• Southbound merge M6/M6 Toll (coordinated rolling block from M6 Jn.4)

Later that morning, traffic heading north will also be able to access the road:

Rolling block travelling north from Kingsbury Road:

• T1 entry (Kingsbury Road A4097)

• T3 exit & entry (Langley Mill South– A38)

• T4 exit & entry (Weeford Junction – A5/A38)

• T5 entry (Shenstone A5127)

• T6 exit (Burntwood – A5 link)

• T7 exit (Churchbridge A5/A34/A460)

• T8 exit (Middle Hill – A460)

• M6 Jn.11A merge (M6 Toll/M6)

PHASE 2

Friday tbc Northbound M42 opens from 10am

• Traffic travelling north on the M42 will be able to access the M6 Toll from Jn.8 – Northbound M6 opens overnight

• Traffic travelling north on the M6 will be able to access the M6 Toll from Jn.4

PHASE 3

Saturday tbc – Southbound M6 opens overnight

• Traffic travelling south on the M6 will be able to access the M6 Toll from Jn.11A from Sunday morning

• From Sunday morning, peak hour traffic will be able to avoid the M6 by using the M6 Toll

About Midland Expressway Limited

Midland Expressway Limited (MEL) is the company with overall responsibility for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the M6 Toll until 2054, when it will be handed back to the Government. MEL is jointly owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia (75% ownership) and Autostrada SpA of Italy (25% ownership), both of which have extensive experience of owning and operating toll motorways. Put and Call options exist between MIG and Autostrada that will result in MIG moving to 100% ownership by the end of 2005. In September 2000 Midland Expressway Limited awarded the £485m contract to build the M6 Toll to CAMBBA, a consortium made up of Carillion, Alfred McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and AMEC.

http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pressdetail.asp?id=6

Project Background (from Benjamin G. Perez, Achieving Public-Private Partnership in the Transport Sector, publication pending 2004, Diebold Institute for Public Policy.)

Britain’s wide assortment of transport partnerships also includes a real toll project: the Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR). The BNRR is a 48-kilometer six-lane facility that, together with the proposed Birmingham Western Orbital Road, would complete a motorway ring around the city. With an estimated cost of US $1.15 billion, the BNRR is the largest road project currently proposed in the UK and would be the nation’s first toll road. Plans for the controversial motorway were first conceived in 1984, but the project was not advanced until 1990, when a shortlist of three firms was invited to submit bids to design, finance, build and operate the new roadway. In February 1992, the 53-year concession was awarded to Midland Expressway Ltd, (MEL), initially comprised of Trafalgar House (now Kvaerner) and Autostrade of Italy. The project has had a tortuous history fraught with local opposition and protests. Nonetheless, the franchise does not limit Midland’s return on its investment. Therefore, the company has an enormous incentive to move the project forward. MEL spent over US $49 million in supporting the government through the controversial planning process. Enabling legislation for the new road was proposed in February 1998. Construction began in 2001, with the road – now know as the M6 Toll – expected to open to service in early 2004. MEL is now jointly owned by the Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia, with a 75 percent stake, and Autostrade SpA of Italy.