M6 relief road calls renewed after ‘traffic chaos’

2 hours agoAndrew Allan

Calls for a relief road have been renewed by an MP who described how a motorway closure saw a town descend "once again into traffic chaos".

Traffic in Kendal was heavily congested for most of Thursday after drivers were diverted into the town following the closure of parts of the M6.

A bypass relieving traffic around Kendal has been mooted for years, with plans for a road connecting the A591 Windermere Road and A6 Shap Road to the north of the town due to be discussed later this year by the government.

Bus driver Andrew Allan said "it threw a lot of services out" in the town, while MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said it caused "an absolute disaster" for businesses and residents.

The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.

On Thursday, a lorry overturned and caught fire, leading to the M6 being closed between junction 36 and 39 for most of the day, with motorway traffic being diverted near Kendal.

Farron said the issue was "nothing new" and had been "a problem for decades".

In a letter to the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, he continued: "Given the narrow streets and bridges, our town centre isn't designed for modern traffic and therefore it doesn't take a lot for things to go wrong."

He added Thursday's "traffic chaos has once again shown the desperate need for a northern bypass".

'Kendal cannot cope'

Shaun Walker, a Kendal resident who lives by the A6, said: "A relief road would help no end with Kendal's traffic."

He said the infrastructure in the town centre could not "cope anymore with the vast volume of traffic" when "various motorway closures or incidents" happened.

"When this does happen, local folk can't go about their daily business as they would."

Mr Walker believes local businesses would benefit from the bypass, adding there could be "less disruption all round".

Bus driver Andrew Allan said: "Thankfully I was not working yesterday but it threw a lot of services out.

"It doesn't take much for traffic to be snarled up but when things like that happen it's time to give up.

"There are a few traffic lights that cause most of the problems, but the layout of the system doesn't make much sense either."

Mr Allan added he believed a relief road was "necessary, as long as it's well thought out".