M6 Toll marks its 10th anniversary
Exactly 10 years ago today, the M6 Toll opened to fee-paying motorists for the first time.
The road was launched on December 9, 2003, with then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling the guest of honour.
The barriers at toll booths were raised for the first time at 10.10am after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Charges at the time were £2 for cars – they have now risen to £5.50 for cars and £11 for lorries.
An average of 44,462 a day were using it over the summer. And while that is a 13.3 per cent hike on the year before, it also includes a month of free travel for lorries during July.
And it is still less than half the 100,000 a day the road was designed to take. Much of the increased traffic is thanks to roadworks on the M6.
Seven years ago it was getting around 55,542 vehicles a day. Its busiest day was in May 2004 when it got 66,295.
The free period for lorries resulted in 1,000 extra journeys a day, according to figures released today.