M6 Toll bosses are planning an advertising campaign to cash in on an unprecedented period of roadworks on the M6 and in Birmingham. Last night, Midland Expressway Ltd admitted it was ready to launch the campaign at the same time as state-controlled roads around Birmingham will be severely disrupted thanks to three concurrent sets of road resurfacing works starting in the summer. The news prompted Birmingham business leaders to call on MEL to not give the impression the city will be closed for business. The Highways Agency has already confirmed plans for a £150,000 advertising campaign to warn motorists and freight hauliers of alternative routes around the roadworks. Although the precise wording has not been decided, it is believed HA officials are wary of promoting the M6 Toll too prominently as a diversion in case it is mistakenly assumed the roadworks are a way of bolstering the numbers of vehicles using the private motorway. Last night, an MEL spokesman confirmed it will launch an advertising campaign when the roadworks to fix serious pothole problems on two stretches of the M6 and Aston Expressway in to Birmingham begin in June. Yes, we will be running a campaign informing motorists that there is an free-flowing alternative, he said. Since launch, weve been able to offer motorists a much- needed free flowing alternative through the congested West Midlands corridor. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce spokesman John Lamb said businesses would be anxious the ad campaign did not further deter visitors to the city, while Simon Woodings, Midland spokesman for the AA, said it was natural the private company would seek to exploit problems on the rival road. Meanwhile, a new survey has revealed only one in eight Birmingham businesses transport freight on the 27-mile M6 Toll. Those refusing to use the £900 million road said the toll prices were heavily weighted against the business community, leading to calls for greater government control of the privately-run road. The survey among the 4,000 business the Birmingham Chamber represents found only 12.5 per cent of those asked admitting they used the road. Head of policy at the Chamber, Debbie Walsh, said: According to their own figures, revenue is only half what they expected and there has been little impact on relieving congestion on the M6. We believe its time for the operators to step in and review their pricing policies and for the Government to look at ways of introducing some control. The M6 Toll currently charges HGVs £10 at peak times but that figure will rise to £11 after the 10 millionth vehicle has used the road. l The Highways Agency has explained why it gritted the motorways around Birmingham on Sunday night, one of the mildest of the year so far. The temperature dipped to a low of 2.4C (36F), but the HA still sent the gritters out. A spokeswoman for the Agency said: The temperature on the road around Spaghetti Junction did fall to the point we felt it necessary to do do a minimal spread of 10ml grit. | 
