"Angus Bryant" wrote in message
...
"Chris Jones" wrote in message
...

Besides, if it weren't going to be a toll road, it would fill up with
traffic and be no better than the normal M6, and we would be back
to square one despite having spent £900 million.

It would fill up as-is, yes. What they should have done would be to
build
it
with no local junctions - just access from the M6 and M42 at either end.
That way, only long-distance traffic uses it, there are no new business
parks or shopping centres built next to it, and it serves its purpose as
a
long-distance strategic route.

Ideally, yes. But no-one (e.g. county council, etc) would allow that to
go
through their region without some benefit for local traffic to offset the
impact of the new route, i.e. extra junctions. Same applies for new
railways - look at the case of the CTRL domestic trains and Ebbsfleet as
sweeteners for the line being built through Kent.

The CTRL is one of the biggest farces of this century. Unable to build it
with private finance, the Government comes in and subsidises it like mad,
despite having almost no social benefit (or at least other schemes have a
much higher benefit:cost ratio, eg Thameslink 2000).

The domestic services through Kent may be the only thing that could actually
make the CTRL worthwhile.

Angus