New analysis released by Midlands Connect shows three junctions on a section of the A50 are all over 100 per cent capacity every day.
Traffic flows at the A50/A521 roundabout at Blythe Bridge reach up to 124 per cent capacity in the morning, the A50/B5030 is at 103 per cent capacity and the A50/A515 roundabout is at 105 per cent capacity in the AM peak time.
Last year, Midlands Connect highlighted drivers at peak time are driving as slow as 14 miles-per-hour between the A522 Beamhurst junction and the McDonald’s island in Uttoxeter.
As a result, it is one of the key junctions Midlands Connect and Staffordshire County Council are proposing the government improves in the upcoming Road Investment Strategy for 2025 to 2030.
In 2022 Midlands Connect released a ‘road map’ document with a series of proposals for the A50/A500 which outlined how improvements in the route could add £12 billion to the region’s economy over the next 60 years, help to unlock more than 12,000 jobs and reduce journey times by 30 minutes.
Integrated Transport Programme Lead, Swati Mittal said: “The A50 Corridor from Blythe Bridge, Uttoxeter and on through to Sudbury has struggled for many years with gridlock and we are keen to get solutions moving to fix this. Drivers have been snarled up in traffic with impacts residents and businesses in and around Staffordshire and beyond.
“An intervention in this area is necessary to facilitate growth, jobs and allow us to then look at other parts of the A50/A500 in the years ahead. This is the first piece in the puzzle.”
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills Philip White said: “The A50/A500 corridor is a critical east/west route for Staffordshire and the wider region and improving the route is a key priority to us and our partners.
“It is set to become an international hub for the manufacture of hydrogen engines. Streamlining the route will support our collective ambition to ensure it can become a global centre of excellence in this sector in the future.
“As a county council we’re leading a strategic alliance of local authorities and working with the major manufacturers to lobby central government for support to realise these sustainable economic growth opportunities through our Fifty500 initiative.
“With a focus on net carbon zero in manufacturing, it’s therefore essential we can improve these junctions which restrict growth.”
Did they also decided that water is still wet!! 😂. Somthing else we have known to be true for years. What is going to be done about it. 26th -28th July will see 19,000 visit Alton towers and 11,000 visit jcb per day. This plus the normal volume of traffic. The amount of times something has been promised and nothing delivered!