West Midlands’ most congested roads where it takes drivers over a minute to travel 1 mile
The most congested roads in Birmingham and the Black Country have been revealed where it takes motorists more than a minute to drive 1 mile. The West Midlands is a heavily built conurbation with congestion occurring daily on its motorways and A-roads. Some routes are more notorious than others but a new study has revealed the roads where drivers are spending the most time stuck in traffic across Birmingham[1] and the four Black Country[2] boroughs.
The Road Delay Report[3], which outlined the findings, was created by Cromwell Trucks[4] and Online Marketing Surgery[5] using data from government's Department for Transport. In Birmingham, the most congested major route - which includes motorways and major A-roads - was the southbound section of the A5127 Gravelly Hill within the A38M junction, which connects to the M6's[6] Spaghetti Junction. Here, it takes drivers on average 71.6 seconds - more than a minute - to travel a mile.
The route is used by motorists travelling from north Birmingham into the city centre or onto the M6. Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp[8], click the link to join When it comes to local and smaller A-roads, the most congested one was the A457, which runs through Winson Green,[9] past Birmingham City Hospital[10] and into Cape Hill.
There, drivers crawled along at a snail's pace of 142.1 seconds per mile on average - over two minutes. In the Black Country, traffic times were even worse. The most delayed major route was a 1.7 mile stretch of the A5 Watling Street southbound in Brownhills, Walsall[11], between the A5195 and the A461 Walsall Road.
Here, it took motorists 94.2 seconds to travel a mile on average.
Traffic on the A5127 Gravelly Hill heading from Aston into the A38M Spaghetti junction/Salford Circus.
The most delayed local A-road in the Black Country almost took three minutes to travel a mile. This was the A4092 which runs from Smethwick[12] into Winson Green, where it joins the A457. On average, it takes drivers 170.4 seconds to travel a mile here.
Top 10 motorways/major A-roads in Birmingham with the most delays
Road Name
Seconds per vehicle per mile A5127 southbound within A38 junction
71.6 M6 northbound within J6
38.9 A5127 northbound within A38 junction
33.8 M6 northbound between J6 and J7
31.6 M6 southbound between J6 and J5
27.3 M6 southbound between J5 and J4A
24.7 M6 southbound between J7 and J6
23.2 M6 southbound within J6
22.9 M6 northbound between J5 and J6
22.3 A38(M) southbound within M6
13.5
Top 10 motorways/major A-roads in the Black Country with the most delays
Road Name Area Seconds per vehicle per mile
A5 southbound between A5195 and A461 Walsall
94.2 A449 southbound between M54 and A460
Wolverhampton
75.9 M6 southbound within J10 Walsall
71.6 A5 southbound between A5195 and A461 Walsall
63.7 A449 northbound between A460 and M54 Wolverhampton
61.5 A5 northbound between A461 and A5195 Walsall
59.6 M6 southbound between J10A and J10 Walsall
53.7 A5 northbound between A5195 and A452 Walsall
51.1 M6 southbound between J10 and J9 Walsall
48.2 M6 northbound within J8 Sandwell
48
Top 10 most traffic-clogged local A-roads in Birmingham
Road Name Seconds per vehicle per mile A457
142.1 A41
128.5 A435
110.3 A4540
105.8 A4040
83.9 A5127
79.1 A441
71.9 A4041
71.1 A34
68
A45
59
Top 10 most traffic-clogged local A-roads in the Black Country
Road Name Area Seconds per vehicle per mile
A4092 Sandwell
170.4 A4030
Sandwell
142.6 A4100 Dudley
122.7 A4150 Wolverhampton
116
A459 Wolverhampton
115 A462
Sandwell
95.3 A4126 Wolverhampton
92.8 A4148 Walsall
90.7 A34 Sandwell
86.7 A454 Wolverhampton
85.3
References
- ^ Birmingham (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Black Country (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Road Delay Report (cromwelltrucks.com)
- ^ Cromwell Trucks (cromwelltrucks.com)
- ^ Online Marketing Surgery (onlinemarketingsurgery.co.uk)
- ^ M6's (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ I spent two hours on the M6 with officers and it took minutes to spot a problem (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ BirminghamLive WhatsApp (chat.whatsapp.com)
- ^ Winson Green, (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham City Hospital (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Smethwick (www.birminghammail.co.uk)